A Clear Call

Until March 11, the political words & deeds of 1952 were those of the politicians, the pundits and the pollsters. While nearly everyone agreed that Ike Eisenhower was a popular figure in the U.S., there was some doubt whether his popularity could be extended into the ballot box, and still more about whether it would be effective at the Republican National Convention.

Then the people began to have their say. The absent Ike's victory over a campaigning Senator Robert Taft in New Hampshire on March 11 was impressive enough. But when the Republican voters of Minnesota went to the polls through snow and mud and wrote in Ike's name nearly 107,000 times, the clear call was unmistakable. Linked together, the results of New Hampshire and Minnesota became a striking and momentous demonstration that an Eisenhower boom of tremendous proportions is sweeping across the land.

Politician Bob Taft could see it. He withdrew from the New Jersey primary, where he would have faced another direct test with Ike. From his headquarters across the Atlantic, Dwight Eisenhower could see it. Said he: "The mounting numbers of my fellow citizens who are voting to make me the Republican nominee are forcing me to re-examine my personal position and past decisions."

Close friends said Ike had decided that, because of his growing political stature, it is his duty to resign as NATO commander and return to the U.S. before the end of May. After he made that decision, Ike's state of mind was reported as "very happy."

Around Ike's headquarters in France, correspondents began to hear talk about a tentative schedule:

P: April 2, a television report to the U.S. people (it will be made on film in Europe), covering progress during the year he has been NATO commander and explaining that the European defense program is now well under way.

P: May 18, his first speech in the U.S., at the Columbia University-sponsored "American Assembly." in Harriman, N.Y. Subject: foreign policy.

P: Later, a speech at West Point, to expand on his conviction that American military spending can be slashed if the armed services are really unified and streamlined.

P: A speech in his home town, Abilene, Kans., on domestic issues.

Eisenhower's main task will be to help in translating popular sentiment into enthusiastic Ike delegates. Many a politico, impressed by the New Hampshire and Minnesota votes, is now wavering or moving reluctantly into the Eisenhower camp under popular pressure. If they can shake Ike's hand and exchange views with him, they will feel a lot better--and the Ike campaign will be protected against the possibility of a Taft-MacArthur drive in the convention hall.

This is a job that nobody can do on Ike's behalf. An impressive sample of Americans has given him as clear a call as a man can get from the people under the present primary setup. They like Ike, in spite of his absence, because he is not a professional politician, because they think he understands the issues on which peace and war depend, because he shares their suspicion of the mushrooming bureaucratic state.

If Ike stayed in Europe through the convention,the popular groundswell might be thwarted by political manipulation. He has recognized that an important part of the duty imposed by the clear call of New Hampshire and Minnesota is to come home this spring.

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