With a red, white & blue “I Like Ike” button stuck in his lapel, Massachusetts’ Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. stood before a Washington press conference one day last week and discussed his new role: manager of the Eisenhower-for-President campaign. At last, a national Ike organization was off and running.
“Electing Eisenhower,” said Lodge, “would be the biggest single blow that can be struck against Communism and the biggest single blow for world peace … If he’s in the White House, we have a good chance of avoiding World War III.” The inevitable question was asked: Will Ike run? “Would I be here if I wasn’t sure?” replied Lodge. “We’ve got a candidate—the one candidate sure to win. We’ve got him.” Had he heard from Ike since agreeing to take the campaign managership? “There is nothing I can say in public … he knows about it.”
Cabot Lodge seemed to be taking hold of the Ike movement with a steady hand. There will be a main office in Topeka, he said, with branch offices in Washington, New York, Chicago and in the Northwest. Former Senator Harry Darby of Kansas will be president of the organization. Next month, Lodge and Pennsylvania’s Senator Jim Duff will go to Europe to see Ike.
The next big date in the Eisenhower campaign probably will be Feb. 10. That is the deadline for Ike to withdraw his name from the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary. If he doesn’t withdraw, there will be few remaining doubts about whether he is a candidate.
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