The 1956 Republican National Convention was a first for San Franciso, a city not yet synonymous with liberal politics. Nor, for that matter, was California, a state that Dwight Eisenhower (with a Californian as his running mate) would carry twice.
That summer, Democrats were hopeful that a tepid economy and Eisenhower's weakened physical condition would make 1956 more competitive. Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack in 1955, and his convalescence had been a long one. Vice President Richard Nixon had presided over cabinet meetings. And in early June 1956, Eisenhower had undergone intestinal surgery. Meanwhile, in August, the Democrats had re-nominated Adlai Stevenson in Chicago.
Eisenhower, known as "Ike" since his days in the U.S. Army, was not what you'd call an easy-going medical patient. He chafed at his doctors' instructions to avoid stress by, among other things, keeping his famous temper in check. "Just what do you think the presidency is?" he asked them wryly.
But 1955 had been a peaceful year, and 1956 seemed to be shaping up the same way. About the only issue to be dealt with in San Francisco was a rear-guard attempt by some Republican delegates to replace Dick Nixon on the ticket with California Gov. Goodwin Knight. Eisenhower squelched that attempt, met in private with Harold Stassen, one of the plotters, and then invited the White House press corps for a chat at the St. Francis Hotel.
A couple of exchanges from that session reveal how much politics has changed in this country in the ensuing decades -- and also what a singular leader the United States had in its general-turned-politician:
Marvin Arrowsmith, Associated Press: "As you know, the Democrats made some pretty sharp attacks on you and your administration last week. There are some reports around that you are pretty burned up about that. Can you tell us what your reaction has been to that criticism?"
Eisenhower: "I have never answered criticism in my life. In war I was called reckless one day and a coward the next. And you get used to it. Now, as I say, the Republicans have a record. I think I have something of a record. I stand on it. And I don't believe that that kind of attack will do anything but rebound upon the people who make it."
Charles W. Roberts, Newsweek: "To clear up this vice presidency matter, is it true that you came here with the intention of interviewing prospective candidates for the vice presidency?"
Eisenhower: "Not the slightest."
Robert G. Spivack, New York Post: "Can you tell us, Mr. President, what you think of the candidates chosen by the Democrats?"
Eisenhower: "I wouldn't express an opinion at all. Of course not."
James B. Reston, New York Times: "Sir, did you ever at any time make any objective check on the Stassen assertions that Nixon would weaken the ticket -- you or anybody in the administration?"
Eisenhower: "Well … you say objective test, I have seen polls of various kinds, some of them in one area indicate one thing, in other places they indicate another. Now frankly, this could get a little bit embarrassing because all the polls that I saw showed this: That any vice president seemed to reduce my percentage just a trifle."
Ike made that comment with a smile, and the reporters dutifully laughed, but one line of questioning asked that cool San Francisco morning reverberates through the decades. Henry Brandon of the London Sunday Times asked about foreign policy. He wanted to know what Eisenhower thought of the talks taking place about the future of the Suez Canal.
The president deflected that question, although he revealed he was worried about the Suez. His instincts were right. Within months, the dispute over Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's nationalizing of the canal would lead to war between Israel and Egypt -- a war that Great Britain and France helped plan while misleading Washington.
The same week, the Hungarian Revolution would at first thrill and then horrify the world when it was brutally suppressed by Soviet tanks. Some things never seem to change.
Carl M. Cannon is the Washington bureau chief for RealClearPolitics. Reach him on Twitter @CarlCannon
