The magic they had seen in Harding in those early days had been illusion. Though Harding had seemed to succeed by making “no” sound like “yes,” the reality was that he had succeeded with the Washington crowd because he did say “yes,” and too often. That was his temperament, to say “yes” no matter what his mind or his party told him. Harding, winningly rueful as always, even quoted his own father at a press conference to explain his troubles. It was good that Warren had not been a girl, his father had said. He would always be in the family way—because he couldn’t say no. Among the senators,
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