EISENHOWER'S DECISION

WASHINGTON POST AND TIMES HERALD:

THE decision has now been transferred from Mr. Eisenhower to the people. If it were merely a question of personal popularity, Mr. Eisenhower might now be elected by acclamation. But it is far more than that. Many persons who have the kindliest feelings toward him may experience misgivings about the wisdom of his willingness to continue a burden of office that involves risks for him and for the country as well. Others will think the risks worth taking because of the benefits of continuity in the Eisenhower policies.

BOSTON POST:

THE American people have been handed a hard choice. First of all they are asked to determine on the basis of certain unevaluated clinical information whether they want a President for the next four years who cannot give his utmost to the office. Next they are asked to believe that this is a good thing for them and for the country. And they are told that the President's health would improve in the White House more than if he became a private citizen. The White House was not planned as a sanatorium or a nursing home.

BOSTON HERALD:

THE issue of health is a real one. The country is fortunate that all the facts have been put before it, and not hidden behind the kind of bravado that drove F. D. Roosevelt through the rain in his last campaign.

FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM:

FOR the type of "front porch" campaign which President Eisenhower said he would wage, there is plenty of precedent. Calvin Coolidge in 1924 did no strenuous campaigning but easily won election. The President has little need for introducing himself to the voters. Nothing he could say in the campaign could add greatly to what he has already said.

Columnist MAX LERNER in the New York POST:

UP to now [Eisenhower] has been candid about having to limit himself on his job. Now he asserts that he has for some weeks been fulfilling all the duties of the Presidency. The fact is that he has not. If he had, there would not have been the fiasco about the tanks for Saudi Arabia, nor the Dulles whopper about the Russian defeat and retreat all over the world, nor the deep silence about the mounting race crisis in the South, nor the complete absence of an American policy on Israel and the Middle East. If this is a test of working at full capacity, then God help America and its people in the crisis of the years ahead.

Little Rock's ARKANSAS GAZETTE:

THE voter should remember that the issue of a "part-time President" was becoming increasingly lively even before [the] heart attack last September. Mr. Eisenhower had spent more time away from the job than any other President of modern times. The voters must realize, too, that the Democrats are not being arbitrary or capricious when they concentrate much of their early campaign fire on Vice President Nixon. If there is one thing Dwight Eisenhower is supposed to have accomplished, it is the restoration of what might be called national "peace of mind." But if it is "peace of mind" that the American people want, they don't want Nixon.

Hearst's New York DAILY MIRROR:

CONTROVERSY over whether President Eisenhower's health is a campaign issue strikes us as silly. Of course it is an issue. Ike made it an issue, himself, candidly and honestly. Pursuing the "health issue," let us consider the effect upon the GOP ticket if the enemies of Richard Nixon succeed in shoving him aside for someone more palatable to them. That would be taken as an admission that the party really does not expect President Eisenhower to fill out a second term, and therefore is concentrating on the vice-presidency.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES:

NIXON does not always mirror the philosophies and attitudes of Mr. Eisenhower. He is impulsive and often immature. He is an extreme partisan. He attracts the support of those Republicans--the radical right wing--who are not in sympathy with much of the Eisenhower program. Conversely he alienates those independent and Democratic voters who are attracted to Mr. Eisenhower. In urging a stronger vice-presidential candidate--one of presidential stature--we do not wish to convey that we have any special doubts about Mr. Eisenhower's ability to serve out another term. His own assurance of his confidence is good enough for us, but he is mortal.

CHICAGO DAILY NEWS :

THE President is well aware of the concentrated attack by which the Democrats have sought to tear down Nixon. He also knows that a strong Republican faction would prefer another candidate. To thrust the crown upon Nixon at this time, therefore, would simply be to increase the force of that assault. For the President to dump Nixon at San Francisco, however, would be to acknowledge that his high praise did not necessarily convey unswerving support; to confess, in effect, that he had made a serious mistake, or to imply that his desire for re-election might lead him to place expediency above right.

NEW YORK POST:

THE circumstances surrounding the President's candidacy invite the expression of deep Democratic doubts about the regency in prospect. Let it also be said, however, that such a campaign alone can hardly assure Democratic victory. There is vast popular affection for Ike. His Administration is vulnerable on many matters; but its record can only be challenged by a party which has a deep and passionate liberal faith. At this moment the Democratic Party is shadowed by the racist war of Jim Eastland, by the attempted gas "giveaway" of Lyndon Johnson and by Walter George's crusade against an expanded foreign aid program.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE:

THE Democrats, or those of them whose political activity increased markedly after the President was stricken, may now lose interest in the forthcoming campaign on the theory that Mr. Eisenhower has victory in the bag. We hope this attitude will not prevail. We were not among those who believed that Republican prospects depended entirely upon Mr. Eisenhower's decision. The Republican Party is not a one-man party, and this is not a one-party country. A great many things can happen between now and November.

MONTGOMERY (ALA.) ADVERTISER:

DEEP South states are not going to get any comfort from either party. Both parties and their candidates, whosoever, are going to be aggressive and demanding in their stands on segregation. Presumably the two parties in this respect will cancel each other off.

Columnist THOMAS L. STOKES:

IF the President should be reelected, that would mean for the Eisenhower group a lease of four more years during which to try to remake the party into what is sometimes called "the Eisenhower image." By this is meant an internationalist, moderately progressive political organization which has "moderation" as its motto. It also might bring on a prolonged Republican control of government.

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