The people's voice., 1958-04-25

ihO u tidSSuy VI OWlSuC II. ElSon
hover is cast in classic mold. Lik,
every tragic hero, this man attempts
a high purpose, succeeds at first ant
then is overwhelmed by forces within
and without himself. But the case
of Eisenhower is not merely the trag
edy of man. 1t is the tragedy of &
system, nation and a free world
No free man, however remote. car
escape its consequences.
In this closing phase of a great
career it is easy to see retrospectively
that Eisenhower's highest purposes
were doomed from the beginning.
They were doomed by the character
of the man and by the circumstances
of his time. Even if his character had
been different and the times less out
of joint, third and crushing element
of tragedy would have struck him
down. A tiny, hidden weakness of
physical tissue could not survive the
strains of an office almost past mortal
endurance.
All these elements of character,
body and circumstances were dis
guised in 1862 by the most extra
ordinary psychological invention in
American history: the myth of Ike.
A creature who never lived, an
image blown up beyond the dimen-
sions of humanity, was cunningly i'm
printed on the public mind-not by
Eisenhower, whose inner humility is
genuine and radiant, but by the wish
full thinkers and the masters of poll
tical propaganda. Their fiction is now
dissolving before their eyes.
Dissolution was far advanced in
Washington when I visited that sad
and angry town few weeks ago. But
the vital news of the day takes time
to seep through the nation and the
world. The simple fact is that the
presidency has ceased to function as
the fulcrum of domestic and foreign
power. 1t is never likely to function
thus again so long as an ailing man
sits in the White House.
NIXON, "a DARK ENIGMA"
This alarming fact travels slowly in
part because no responsible American
wants to believe it; in part because
the newspaper correspondents feel
decent aversion to printing it; and
finally because the inventors of the
myth are loath to abandon their mas
terpiece and probably their jobs. They
have no substitute but a myterious
stranger, completely unknown
quantity. a dark enigma: Vice Presi-
dent Nixon.
The grim truth is blurred tempo
rarily by the presidents cheerful pub
lie appearances and occasional de-
cisions. These appear sufficient to
him, but they are the least part of
the presidency.
The essential part is the subtle
force of true leadership, the manage
ment of events before they become
unmanageable,. the reconciliation of
rival groups throughout society and
the concentration of executive power |
through one man who must be the ulti-
mate arbiter of American life. There |
is no such man today.
The presidential Iunctlon, immense
and indescribable, has been performed
successfully by perhaps eight men
from Washington onward, three of
them in this century. 1t can be per-
formed only by genius, and only by a
man in robust health.
Eisenhower has the genius of hu
man understanding and friendship but
it was never an adequate genius for
this work. Now, in the final stroke of
his tragedy, he has been robbed of
the physical and, more important, the
psychic strength required. And not at
a normal time but at the supreme
crisis of human history.
1t is impossible, of course, for any
one outside the White House to know
precisely how Eisenhower is operating
from day to day. He has surrounded
himself with an impervious wall of
loyal friends whose duty is to protect
and sustain him.
"VISIBLE RESULTS -.
OBVIOUS AND APPALLING"
Every foreign embassy has its own