(Off-the-record discussion followed.)
Mr. Taylor. Uh—my impression, first, of Lee would be that—uh—he was, first, rather confused, particularly, politically. He wanted to be well-informed and an idealist. He considered himself well-informed. I don't think he was even very knowledgeable on the subject.
In our conversations, when I would take exception to something he had said and argue a point with him, why, superficially, he could make a statement or support an idea that is commonly regarded in some areas as being true—such as, well, the Republican and Democratic Parties have different ideas on how things should be done just as democracy and communism have.
Mr. Jenner. Yes.
Mr. Taylor. And he could present Communist ideas to a point that it was very superficial—and when you started digging down in to the meat of the subject, why, Lee was through.
He seemed to have perhaps read quite a bit of political philosophy, but when it came to really understanding it, he couldn't present a very good case for it.
Mr. Jenner. Was he emotional in that respect?
Mr. Taylor. He would—uh—not any more so than anyone else you would get into a political discussion with. This seems to be a fairly emotional subject on everyone's part.
Mr. Jenner. You didn't regard him as a vicious type—as a man who would think in terms of inflicting bodily harm if frustrated?
Mr. Taylor. Uh—well, I thought of him as a man who—uh—would kick a dog or beat his wife, but—uh—I was never afraid of him because I never felt like that he would attack anything his equal.