Eisenhower in the Spotlight
Those observers who have persisted in regarding General Eisenhower's very late start in the Presidential campaign as tactically wise must at this moment be a little apprehensive. For what has happened is that the interest aroused by this one possible candidate has been steadily concentrated, until now he stands in a spotlight so intense that an almost intolerable strain is placed upon him. The most commonly expressed fear is that he may, during the next critical weeks, make some mistake that will lose him votes. But inevitably he must shed some votes in his progress towards the Republican nomination. It simply is not possible to deal with the whole mass of domestic, local and even personal vested interests that count for so much in American politics without offending some of the voters. And 'since Senator Taft has welcomed his rival back to the United States with an attack so bitter that it leaves no room whatever for compromise, General Eisenhower must work on the assumption that the Republican old -guard not only do not like him but will put aside party unity in order to stop him. In these circumstances a few minor vote-losing errors can hardly matter very much. What can matter is a failure on General Eisenhower's part to capture the imagination of the people who now see him as a man of flesh and blood and not just as a name on a button. A flat and cautious campaign will not do. If the rest of his electoral performance is pitched in the minor key of his first public appearances in Washington and at his home town of Abilene the electors may begin to lose interest. And if they do, the chances of General Eisenhower's winning over independent and Democratic votes in the Presi- dential election itself, always provided that he gets over the great hurdle of the Republican convention in July, will not be very great. He must fight all-the way. -
