The Oracle

As a political oracle, Harry Truman bows neither to man nor public-opinion poll. Last week, at his weekly press conference, the President cocked his head and assumed his wise, oracular look while the New York Times's William Lawrence asked a carefully framed question. "Mr. President," said Lawrence slowly," in General Eisenhower's book, Crusade in Europe, he quotes you as having told him in Europe that there was no position he wanted that you wouldn't help him get, and that specifically included the presidency in 1948.* I'd like to know if that applies in '52."

It certainly does, replied the President, snapping his head for emphasis. He is just as fond of General Eisenhower as he can be. He thinks the general is one of the great men produced by World War II, and thinks the President has shown that by giving the general the most important job available for his ability.

"Good Lord," breathed Lawrence, as he slid back to his chair and scribbled in his notebook. For a few spine-tingling seconds, the 154 reporters could see the big black headline: TRUMAN BACKS IKE FOR PRESIDENT. Then NBC's Frank Bourgholtzer spoke up in disbelief: "Does that mean that if Ike wants to be President, you will help him get it?"

Without batting an eye, Oracle Truman said he hadn't said that at all. As he had just said, he is very fond of General Eisenhower. But he doesn't think the general is a candidate for President on the Democratic ticket. And, said Harry Truman, he couldn't very well help General Eisenhower be a candidate on the Republican ticket, because that wouldn't do the general any good. Anyway, he had another candidate for the Republican ticket: Senator Taft.

When the correspondents hurriedly crowded out the door toward their telephones they asked each other what men had been asking since the beginning of oracles: "What did he really mean?" It seemed clear that the President: 1) still enjoyed acting as Eisenhower's most-quoted character reference; 2) had ruled out Ike as a possibility on the Democratic ticket and considered him a Republican; and 3) would like nothing better than to run against Taft because he thinks he can beat him. In short, Harry Truman had upheld the ancient tradition of oracles by being solemn, obscure, ambiguous and just wise enough to bring the customers back for more.

. . .

Lesser guessers think that if Harry Truman decides not to run again, he will swing the Democratic nomination to his good friend United States Chief Justice Fred Vinson. If he did, the Gallup poll reported this week, today's voters would give Vinson more support (43%) than the Republicans' Taft (37%).

*Which moved Author Eisenhower to write (in 1948): "I doubt that any soldier of our country was ever so suddenly struck in his emotional vitals by a President with such an apparently sincere and certainly astounding proposition as this."

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