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McCarthy sought to characterize President Truman and the Democratic party as soft on or even in league with the Communists. McCarthy's allegations fell flat with Truman who was unaware of [[Venona project]] decrypts which corroborated [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s debriefing after her defection from the Communists.

McCarthy sought to characterize President Truman and the Democratic party as soft on or even in league with the Communists. McCarthy's allegations fell flat with Truman who was unaware of [[Venona project]] decrypts which corroborated [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s debriefing after her defection from the Communists.

McCarthy's support and popularity peaked in early 1954 when a January 1954 Gallup showed that 50 percent of the respondents had a generally "favorable opinion" of him. McCarthy was also fourth on the list of the "most admired men".<ref>

McCarthy's support and popularity peaked in early 1954 when a January 1954 Gallup Poll showed that 50 percent of the respondents had a generally "favorable opinion" of him. McCarthy was also fourth on the list of the "most admired men".<ref>

{{cite book

{{cite book

  | last = Kazin, Michael

  | last = Kazin, Michael