THE PRESIDENCY: Serenity at the Top

Reported TIME White House Correspondent John L. Steele this week:

Aides and close friends have sensed a profound change—or perhaps a crystallization of previous changes—in President Eisenhower since the campaign began. Said one of them last week: "The President seems to have reached a new plane of serenity, almost of self-detachment." Four years in the White House have sharpened his political ear, toughened his belief in himself as a political strategist. But along with this has come a new warmth and understanding. Gone are the occasional flashes of temper that were once the terror of his staff—and of his opponents....