Decision at Gettysburg

I have said unless I felt absolutely up to the performance of the duties of the President, the second that I didn't, I would no longer be there in the job or I wouldn't be available for the job.

--Dwight D. Eisenhower, March 7, 1956

As he looked across his land at Gettysburg this week, the President of the U.S. faced what must be the most complex and most painful decision of his life. He had suffered a heart attack in 1955, an attack of ileitis in 1956 and only last week a stroke. As the man who holds the most important and most difficult job in the world, he had three choices:1) to resign,* and thus turn his job over to Vice President Nixon; 2) to delegate a great share of his duties to the Vice President; 3) to summon up his reserves of stamina, risk his personal well being, and carry on.

Prestige & Stamina. As the President weighed his choice, the U.S. and the world sympathetically but warmly debated' it in terms that were barely whispered during his previous illnesses. There were open and widespread suggestions that the President resign, urgent recommendations that the powers and duties of the Vice President be expanded, urgent recommendations that Ike stay on the job. "Even with his impairment," said a lawyer in Chicago, "Ike has more influence than any other man in the world." Said the London Daily Mirror (circ. 5,000,000): "But Nixon has one supreme advantage. He is only 44. Young enough to learn. Tough enough to stand the strain."

President Eisenhower's prestige and exercise of leadership, though diminished from the high point of 1956. were still high and strong. On news of his new illness, the stock market slumped violently, only to rebound and gain new ground when his quick recovery was apparent. The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance were shaken to the point of dismay when they heard that the man they had counted on to revive the morale of the West might not be able to attend the NATO conference in Paris this month (see FOREIGN NEWS). But they voted to carry on with Vice President Nixon as Eisenhower's substitute if the President could not attend.

What's Best for the Country. Dwight Eisenhower seemed determined to carry on. His dramatic recovery heartened his friends all over the world. This week he was preparing to return to Washington, hoping to take up again the exhausting schedule that his office demands.

In whatever decision he made, Dwight Eisenhower probably would be guided largely by his doctors and his family. Said one close associate who knows the President's mind well: "If the doctors give him advice that leads him to believe he is in condition to do the job the way he thinks it should be done, you can bet he will stay. If they raise doubts of this in his mind, he will resign." In short, President Eisenhower could be counted on to make the decision that he felt, by deepest conviction, was the best for his country.

* Which the President of the U.S. can do--though none has--by writing a letter to the Secretary of State.

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