Christopher Lydon Interviews... :Gore Vidal

"Harry Truman's Cold War was the beginning of the end of our Great Republic, in the Vidal litany--the 'Russians are coming' campaign when Truman and Dean Acheson knew that the Russians weren't going anywhere. "Senator Vandenberg told Truman: 'if you want this buildup because "the Russians are coming," you're going to have to frighten the American people to death or you're not going to get any money out of Congress.' Truman said: 'I'll take care of that,' and he did!""