Just Reasonable

The last big hurdle facing Dwight Eisenhower in his recovery from his stroke was the on-the-spot questioning and answering of the presidential press conference. He had journeyed to Paris and strengthened U.S. ties with NATO leaders. He had recaptured the diplomatic initiative and restored the cold war perspective in his reply to the U.S.S.R.'s Bulganin (TIME, Jan. 20). He had gone far, in his State of the Union message, toward bolstering the public confidence and military energy of the U.S. His special farm and economic messages to Congress carried hard, specific recommendations for bolstering the U.S. economy (see below).

But when the President met the press last week for the first time in eleven weeks, his performance was something of a letdown. He knew his subjects, and his demeanor and clarity of character gave strength to the reasonableness of his answers--but this reasonableness, laid down in cold print, often sounded like weakness and an open invitation to his opponents to walk all over Dwight Eisenhower and his programs.

Groans on the Hill. Asked what he intended to do to carry out the reorganization of the Defense Department promised in his State of the Union message, Ike replied that nothing could be done until there is a "consensus" of Congress and service chiefs--an answer that was promptly interpreted in the Pentagon as backing down.

Would the President fight to get his complete program, presumably including his $73.9 billion budget, through Congress this year by quietly threatening to withhold election support from Congressmen who opposed him? "No," said Ike. "I don't deal on that basis. I do every possible thing I can in the way of consultation, communication, both in Congress and with people outside of Government, to persuade them of the soundness of [my] views ... I will continue to urge and argue far more behind the scenes than in front, but, nevertheless, I will argue . . . as long as I have strength to do it." (On Capitol Hill loyal Republicans groaned; they would like Ike to carry a big stick while he talks softly.)

On the economic front, the "consensus" of his economic advisers, he said, was that 1958 would produce "an upswing rather than a continuation of any downturn." But in case of a continued downturn he thought "a little needle" would be better than "a checkrein." Therefore, for fiscal 1959, some deficit spending "would be better than to start now the question of tax raising." But the Administration has no intention "at this moment" of proposing any kind of specific legislation to pep up the economy.

Would he release the highly publicized Gaither report (TIME, Dec. 2) that warns of the perilous position of the U.S. in its arms race with Russia and advocates a stepped-up arms program and vast bomb shelter project? No, said the President, he would not. He needs the advice of Government and citizen panels. In order for them to know what they are talking about they have to be entrusted with top-secret information. Therefore he must always insist that the "conclusions they reach and the advice they give me is of a privileged character."

Goof in the Draft. Reasonableness was his theme again when he was pressed on prospects for the parley at the summit that the Russians are clamoring for, although he altered not a line of the tough stand of his letter to Russia's Premier Bulganin.

Had he considered asking Bulganin to publish his letter in Russia? "I think if you will read the letter, [you will see that] it said: 'I hope this letter will have the same publicity in Russia that we gave yours.' Now maybe in one draft, that might have gone out, but that is the way I remember it." Press Secretary Jim Hagerty leaped to his feet to whisper in the President's ear that it had indeed gone out. "Sorry," grinned Ike. "I have apparently made a goof ... I would hope that my letter got exactly the same degree of publicity in the Soviet areas that theirs has received in ours."

Trash in the Basket. The high point of the press conference came when calm and equanimity went out the window. New York Daily News Reporter Michael O'Neill quoted anonymous newspaper reports to the effect that Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had submitted his resignation and that the President had rejected it. Blazed Ike: "Have you seen that report or have you written it yourself?" Replied the reporter: "No, sir. But it was in the newspapers." Said Ike: "It was? Then I would say, I would class it as trash . . . The last person that I would want to see resign is Mr. Dulles. I don't mind saying this: I think he is the wisest, most dedicated man that I know ... He stays right squarely on the job, and that is where he belongs."

How was the President himself bearing up under the strain of "Little Rock, Sputnik, Khrushchev and so on" in the wake of his three serious illnesses? Said he: If at any time his doctors told him he was not up to his job, he would resign--but the doctors assured him that there was "no damage to whatever intellectual faculties I have . . . For myself, I feel very well indeed ... As long as I am able, I am going to carry on just exactly as I have in the past, and with no thought of it, and from there on it is in the lap of the gods, and that's that. Now with respect to the five years [in office], I can say this: I do not believe that it is much rougher than I anticipated."

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