The Next Question

At the moment President Eisenhower said he would run, another question became the No. 1 political puzzle in the U.S.: Will Vice President Nixon be his running mate? It was the very first question asked at the President's news conference. "As a matter of fact," Eisenhower answered, "I wouldn't mention the vice-presidency, in spite of my tremendous admiration for Mr. Nixon, for this reason: I believe it is traditional that the Vice President is not nominated until after . . . a presidential candidate is nominated. So I think that we will have to wait to see who the Republican convention nominates, and then it will be proper to give an expression on that point."

Anxious as they were to get out of the room to put the big news of the President's announcement on the wires, newsmen tried to get some kind of hint from the President. Had he consulted Nixon in his decision? "Oh, yes. I consulted Vice President Nixon all the time, and no later than, I think, yesterday afternoon."

What was his reaction to Nixon's characterization of Chief Justice Earl Warren as "Republican" Chief Justice? "Once a man has passed into the Supreme Court, I would never admit that he . .. had a political designation."

That was taken as a tut-tut for Nixon, but the President had held his ground on the general question: "I have said that my admiration and my respect for Vice President Nixon is unbounded. He has been for me a loyal and dedicated associate, and a successful one. I am very fond of him, but I am going to say no more about it."

The Spokesman. The questions about Vice President Nixon have been brewing for a long time. Ever since the 1952 campaign he has been the main target of Democratic campaigners. It was politically logical for Democratic spokesmen to concentrate their fire on Nixon, in view of the fact that a man of Dwight Eisenhower's extraordinary popularity is difficult to attack effectively.

The political role played by Nixon in the campaign and ever since intensified the attacks. Serving under a President who stays above the hurly-burly of political debate, the Vice President became the chief--and sometimes the only--political spokesman for his party. In the 1954 congressional campaign he swung through the country with a hard-hitting attack on Democratic leaders and candidates. Democratic spokesmen hurled back at him charges of "lie, slander and smear."

Through all this, most other Republicans on the national scene remained timidly silent, leaving Nixon alone on the skyline. The partisan attacks on him were so frequent and so violent that their total impact left many a U.S. voter with an indefinable but nevertheless real doubt about Richard Nixon.

The opposition to Nixon has no relation to the way he has performed as Vice President. Almost every knowing observer in Washington agrees that Nixon has made far more of the job than any of his 35 predecessors. Since Jan. 20, 1953 he has been one of the most useful, busiest and most influential men in the Federal Government. As a direct representative of the executive occupying a top position in the legislative branch, he has become the best informed of all men on what is going on at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. He has been the President's standin, troubleshooter, elucidator, lobbyist, ambassador and often the man who gets assigned to the tough, unpopular job. He traveled around the world as the President's personal representative, spreading good will and gathering good information. President Eisenhower has called Nixon "the most valuable member of my team."

13 to 1. Despite their failure to stand beside him in his battle with the Democratic leadership, most Republican leaders like Richard Nixon. Last week the Associated Press polled G.O.P. leaders (governors, state chairmen, national committeemen and women) across the country on whether Nixon should be kept on the Republican ticket. Those who expressed an opinion stood 13 to 1 for keeping Nixon. None of the G.O.P. leaders attacked him. Those who thought it might be a good idea to drop him merely feared that Democratic attacks had made him a political liability.

As the new furor about the vice-presidency churned up, Republican National Chairman Leonard Hall said flatly that he "assumed" Richard Nixon would be the nominee for Vice President. Said Hall: "Dick Nixon was in the service. He has been a Congressman, and a good one. He has been a Senator, and a good one . . . He has taken on duties in Washington no other Vice President has, and I think Dick Nixon is a great American. A great American in my opinion is a strong candidate."

Leonard Hall recognized and was worried about the total political effect of the attacks on Nixon. But he also knew that if the Republican Party dropped the Vice President, it would be creating a whole new set of problems for itself. It would be emphasizing the very weaknesses in the party that helped to put the Vice President on the spot. The hidden strength of Nixon's position lies in the fact that Ike needs a strong, outspoken, "real Republican"--and if one could be found he would certainly come under Democratic fire as heavy or heavier than that which now rakes Nixon.

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