Only the vice president’s most inner circle knew that Truman suffered acute anxiety. He had failed to crack the inner circle of Roosevelt’s trusted advisors and in fact knew almost nothing about what was going on in the Oval Office. During his eighty-two days as VP leading up to April 12, 1945, Truman had visited the president on official business just twice. He was terrified by what he saw. According to the Washington rumor mill, Roosevelt had suffered a stroke, a heart attack, cancer of the prostate, a nervous breakdown—the story changed every day.
