More implicitly than explicitly, then, Snyder shows how the upper echelons of American liberalism have long been able to accommodate and even celebrate nationalists who pal around with white supremacists. As The House of Truth proceeds and its dinner parties mount, it becomes clearer and clearer that Borglum thrived in an environment that rewarded brash male sociability and defiant pronouncements about the political scene. “He had the eloquence and the attractiveness of not qualifying his speech,” reminisced Frankfurter, “none of the whereases, aforesaids, and howevers—no buts in his speech. It was all clear, black and white, passionate, uncompromising.” Borglum could raise eyebrows, and Frankfurter spoke of “his—what shall I say—exciting imagination.” But he occasioned little opposition at the House of Truth. The liberals knew he was a bit of a fraud, but few in Washington were innocent of self-promotion, and, in the end, they thought he was fun. They liked Borglum, liked to gossip about him, and liked to advance his career.
