Secretary McCulloch
arrived this A.M. Met him at the President's. His trip has been of benefit to
him. McCulloch has grown upon me since he entered the Cabinet. Perhaps I have
not been as observant and critical as I should have been had we differed, but
from the beginning our views have coincided, and I have considered him, though
not trained in public office or an experienced politician, as the most reliable
and sensible man in the Cabinet.
Dennison has written
a strange letter and made a speech of like character. I am disappointed in him,
for he is exceedingly unjust and unfair towards the President. It is a bid, but
he will be disappointed.
Dennison is very
ambitious, and has a wife more ambitious than himself. Of the two, she is
smarter, but D. is gentlemanly, kind, affable, has great suavity of manners. He
will never obtain a higher position than the one he has recently resigned. It
is said he wishes to secure the seat in the Senate held by Wade; but that can
hardly be brought about, though strange results sometimes take place in these
selections.
The letter and
speech which now appear are mere party drivel, without statesmanship or
enlarged and comprehensive views. Such stuff can convert no one, and retain no
one. I am sorry to witness this exhibition, for Dennison aside from factions,
is not destitute of merit, has some pleasant social qualities, and our families
have been intimate. He is evidently expecting to make an impression in party
harangues, but will scarcely succeed.
SOURCE: Gideon
Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and
Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, pp. 576-7
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