Drafting Ike ( | Volume: 69, Issue: 6)

Drafting Ike

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Authors: William E. Robinson

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| Volume 70, Issue 3

William E. Robinson, former publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and former President and Chairman of the Coca Cola Company, was one of the organizers of Citizens for Eisenhower. Here he describes the events leading to Eisenhower's nomination for the Presidency in 1952.

During the early part of General Eisenhower's work at NATO, his political party preference was unknown except to a few intimate friends. Consequently, during this tour of duty, he was under constant pressure by both major political parties to declare himself and return to the United States to run for the Presidency. Truman (as revealed in Eisenhower's book Mandate for Change) had offered to support him as the Democratic candidate for any office, including the Presidency.
In October, 1951, the leading Republican newspaper, the New York Herald Tribune, came out for his nomination on the Republican ticket. Thomas E. Dewey, during his campaign for governor of New York in 1950, called for Eisenhower as the presidential candidate for 1952. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge flew to NATO in September, 1951, to convince the General that he should be the Republican candidate—as the only one who could win. Ike pointed out to Lodge, as he had to others, that he "was not interested." The Senator persisted, asking permission merely to enter the General's name in the upcoming primaries. To this proposal, the best response that Lodge could get out of him was "I'll think about it." A small group of Republican members of the House sent him a message promising their support.
But the Democrats, in power and numbers, put on the greatest pressure. With no outstanding candidate in the offing, they were glad to go outside their professional ranks for a 
 
new leader. This was not the case with most Republicans. It was interesting to find out at this time that private polls taken among the Senate and House members in Washington showed an overwhelming preference for Taft among the Republicans, with Eisenhower as the majority choice among the Democrats.
To all the pressures from both political camps the General gave not the slightest encouragement. Rather it was distracting and sometimes annoying as he worked day and night and traveled extensively in Europe to build NATO into the effective Soviet deterrent it was to become.
During those days, I traveled to Europe frequently in connection with the business of the European edition of the Herald Tribune and other matters. I talked with Eisenhower on each of these visits, occasionally as his house guest.
From our conversations I clearly discerned two prime motivations for his refusal to support efforts in his behalf by either political party. The first of these was his strong conviction that NATO was absolutely essential as a defense against a Communist takeover in Western Europe and his feeling that this service transcended any other that he could render his country and the freedom of the Western world. His second motivation was more personal, and one must understand General Eisenhower's almost unbelievable modesty