There has always been reason to believe that Borah was never more
enamored of La Follette in his prime, or of Hiram Johnson, than he
has been of the "reactionary" leaders with whom he has been
oftentimes in open conflict. When the latter deluded himself with
the hope of securing the Republican nomination, Borah was supposed
to be his chief supporter. When Johnson had eliminated Lowden and
Wood, and seemed to have eliminated Harding, Borah showed more
interest in the Knox candidacy. He wanted Knox at the head of the
ticket mainly because he knew that Knox was an implacable foe of
the League of Nations. On that fateful Friday night in Chicago when
the signs of the trend toward Harding had begun to appear, the
Senator from Idaho was anxious and prepared to place Knox's name in
nomination and begged Johnson to swing his delegates in that
direction.
Borah has succeeded very well in concealing his own ambitions,
possibly because he is more cautious than some of his impetuous
colleagues, or because the opportunity has never come for an
avowal. But among those who have followed his career there is a
very strong suspicion that his one great desire was to be the
successor of Roosevelt. This might be one reason for his antagonism
toward the politicians of the old regime, such as Penrose, who have
barred his way in that direction, and his fitful devotion to
progressivism championed by others.
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