Evening star., 1952-01-13
Ike as q President

Any one, hindsighting on 1948,
would be foolhardy to predict the
outcome in November. But from
the vantage point Of January, 1t
looks as though the pitfalls will
be few If Gen. Eisenhower survives
the Republican National. Conven-
ton in July.
And yet, granting nomination and
election, Dwight Eisenhower might
well be one Of the unhappiest men
on earth on January 20, 1858. At
any rate, he certainly would be
one of the most sorely beset.
Non-political figures have on
occasion been elected to the pres
idency. But since George WASH
ington, without exception, they
have had bad time in the White
House. William Henry Harrison
was elected President in 1840 as a
compromise candidate after the
Wings turned back Henry Clay's
bid for the nomination. His run
ningmate, John Tyler, was a polit-
ical enemy of the things Clay
cherished.
Harrison did not live long enough
just 81 days-to experience the
pangs of intraparty strife. But
Tyler inherited the trouble that
was inherent in the Clay freeze
out, and neither President nor
party survived the storm for long.
Eisenhower can, for the purposes
of discussion, be equated with
Harrison and Tyler (the two men
must be taken as until. There
are parallels between the positions
Of Clay and Taft. 1t Is unlikely
that the more sophisticated Eisen-
hover would let things get en-
= tirely out Of hand the way Harrison
and Tyler did. But it is equally
doubtful that he would get much
more cooperation from Taft than
the White House did from Clay
over 100 years ago.
Not q DurobIe Peoce
Assuming that sometime be-
tween the convention and the elec-
ton this year, the Eisenhower and
Taft forces got together for the
appearance of unity, the alliance
could hardly be durable one. The
fight between the two strong men
will be primarily on foreign policy
grounds-the one basis on which
compromise would be not only difIi-
cult but (on the part of the yielder)
downright immoral, since each man
is convinced he is right.
Senator Taft holds a seat In the
upper house which he will not have
to vacate unless he is elected Presi-
dent. So Gen. Eisenhower, on elec-
ton, would find himself faced by his
bittereSt foreign-policy enemy in
the very forum where foreign policy
constitutionally Is determined. What
Is more, since presidential victory
usually connotes a congressional
triumph for the same party, Taft
would be a majority spokesman
aligned against his own party leader.
Still further, he might remain the
majority spokesman.
Patronage Dilemma
The matter Of patronage would be
a poser. In politics, the tradition Is
to reward ones friends and punish
ones enemies. Gen. Eisenhower may
or may not understand this; if he
does not, he would run the risk of
losing some priceless friends and
gaining some costly foes in his early
days in the White House. But could
he dispense patronage to his friends
alone, leaving the hereto wing of
the party completely out in the cold?
And what about cabinet? Out
of what segment Of the party could
Eisenhower form a cabinet that
would enhance his prestige as a
President, further the welfare OF
the Nation-and be acceptable to
other segments Of the party?
For Eisenhower's hackers, OF
course, the answer is that a genius
for the kind of reasoned compro-
mise which enables men to work
together is precisely the genius this
man has demonstrated. Perhaps
the same quality of leadership that
kept Montgomery and Patton fight
ing on the same side of the same
war might produce a solution that
could keep Taft in harness with
Dewey and Lodge with Bricker, all
pulling in the same direction to
promote the general welfare of the
Nation.
II any man can do it, Eisenhower
looks to many Americans like the
man. But it clearly would be a
Job which would make the others
he has tackled seem like rolling
of log.
4 J