Why I Believe in Eisenhower
The Atlantic invited SENATOR HENRY CABOT LODGE, JR., campaign manager for Dwight D. Eisenhower, to sum up the reasons why he has pledged his allegiance to the General. This is what he wrote.
by SENATOR HENRY CABOT LODGE, JR.
I BELIEVE in Eisenhower because of the kind of man he is. By this I mean his nature personality, and character. He is warm, human, and friendly. He is a man of humility who, in the words of St. Paul, “is not puffed up.” Although he has a mind which can cut through complexities and solve tangled problems, he is a genius in getting different elements together and he is, in his relationships with other people, essentially a simple man.
I believe in Eisenhower because of his philosophy of government, which affirms that we can and must make progress in the future without destroying the good things that have been accomplished in the past;. This philosophy denies the demagoguery which has come from both extremes of the political spectrum and which shouts that we must either do not hing and pretend that there is no problem, or else embark on so-called solutions which are foolish or ruinous or both. He opposes socialism because it leads to a kind of government so strong as to endanger our liberties. He favors using government as a servant to fill in the chinks which free enterprise may not reach and thus maintain faith in the free system.
3.I believe in Eisenhower because I am sure he can win the election; and we need a change of Administration in the best interest of everyone in the nation — Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike.
4.I believe in Eisenhower because of his demonstrated administrative ability in positions involving literally millions of men and billions of dollars. Ibis a proved leader who knows how to move men ahead in spile of their differences. His life is not marked by intraparty disputes and factions.
5. I believe in Eisenhower because he will clean out corruption, remove those from government, service who should not be there, and thus restore the moral tone and public confidence in government, notably the StallDepartment.
6. I believe in Eisenhower because he will eliminate waste and lake all slops wherobv his able and inspired leadership can rally diverse elements in America as h has in the world, and thus control inflation, maintain the soundness of the dollar, and preserve the living standards of the people. With him in the White House we will have economic .strength.
7. I believe in Eisenhower because he will develop the military strength which, through carelessness, ignorance, neglect, miscalculation, and timidity, vve lost after World War II and which vve must have in order to regain the diplomatic initiative and organize peace. With Eisenhower in the White House vve will really develop tho industrial production of which we are capable and will no longer, for example, be outproduced by the Communists in jet planes.
8. I believe in Eisenhower because he not only knows the value of economic strength and military strength but also understands the critical importance of the strength which comes from haring allies who are really effective. Ho knows more about developing such allies than anybody else.
9. I believe in Eisenhower because he feels deeply the overriding importance of the spiritual strength to be derived from the ideal of the equality and dignity of man on which our country is founded — an ideal which can inspire people all over theworld and which giv es man his highest meaning and value.
10. Finally, I believe in Eisenhower because the combination of these personal qualities means that with him in the White House vve can do our utmost to organize a durable and lasting peace. This is the greatest single issue of our time because it underlies all others. If a durable peace were organized, we could reduce rearmament expenses, reduce taxes, reduce inflation, reduce concent rat ion of power in government, reduce the casualty lists in Korea and stop the threat of further casualties which now causes anxiety in every home where t here is a man of military effectiveness. We know more about where Eisenhower stands on this issue than we know about the stand of any other candidate. The overwhelming confidence which is fell in Eisenhower among people of all ages, parties, regions, occupations and nations is not basically due to his personal magm-lism, or to his philosophy of government, or to his administrative ability, but to the overwhelming fact that he, more than any other man, can most nearly solve the great central problem of our time.