"One of the Comers"

As it was the week before last, as it will be next week, and for weeks to come, Topic A of U.S. politics was the future of Richard Nixon. "Mr. President," a reporter put the first question at Eisenhower's press conference, "there have been some published reports that some of your advisers are urging you to dump Vice President Nixon from the Republican ticket this year, and that, secondly, you yourself have suggested to Mr. Nixon that he consider standing aside this time and, perhaps, take a Cabinet post. Can you tell us whether there is anything to those reports?"

"Effrontery." As he has done all along, the President spoke out strongly on behalf of his Vice President. "I will promise you this much," he said, "that if anyone ever has the effrontery to come in and urge me to dump somebody that I respect as I do Vice President Nixon, there will be more commotion around my offices than you have noticed yet. Second, I have not presumed to tell the Vice President what he should do with his own future. I have told him this: I be lieve he should be one of the comers in the Republican Party. He is young, vigorous, healthy and certainly deeply informed on the processes of our Government. And so far as I know, he is deeply dedicated to the same principles of Government that I am. The only thing I have asked him to do is to chart out his own course and tell me what he would like to do. I have never gone beyond that."

Another reporter asked if the President would be content, Nixon willing, to keep Nixon as his running mate. The President replied: "Well, I am not going to be pushed into corners here and say--and right now, at this moment--say what I would do in a hypothetical question involving about five ifs. And I don't think you should expect me to. I do say this: I have no criticism of Vice President Nixon to make, either as a man, associate, or as my running mate on the ticket."

"We Can Win." Many Washington reporters interpreted the President's wording "chart out his own course" to mean that the President was charting out a strategy to drop Nixon from the ticket. Actually, Eisenhower neither reiterated nor withdrew from his stated position that he will endorse nobody for Vice President until he becomes the nominee.

Nixon himself is acutely aware that he is Topic A, and he has had strong impulses to step down from the ticket; he is aware of the U.S. tradition that one does not announce for the vice presidency, and his course will be to make up his mind and let the President know in advance of the convention what he wants to do.

Meanwhile, Nixon and his wife flew up to New York for a spell of relaxation, took in Damn Yankees and Fanny, flew back to Washington to receive a noisy greeting from the Republican Women's National Conference. Nixon was rewarded with gales of applause when he remarked "We can win, and I think we will win in 1956." Actress Helen Hayes proclaimed: "That wonderful, attractive, honest and good Dick Nixon!" When reporters boxed

Nixon in and asked him whether he would run, Nixon was patient and agreeable: "I do not have any political comments to make as far as my own personal political situation is concerned at this time."

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