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¶"We cannot act as freedom's leader by wearing the shoddy clothing of national scandal."
As his campaign drew toward its end,
Eisenhower reminisced: "Coast to coast ... I saw the faces of tens of thousands of eager, earnest, friendly Americans. The thought kept recurring . . . what tremendous deeds can be done for America through the unity, through the united will, of all these people . . ."
Student Eisenhower won't get his grades until the night of November 4. But meanwhile, nobody can say that a man of unique experience did not cram another piece of priceless education into the last five months.
TIME (Feb. 12, 1951) reported: "What made [Eisenhower's] assignment so overwhelming was the fact that his answers would be believed. The word of no other man would be taken so unquestioningly, so much on faith. His was a position almost unique in U.S. history ... In Europe, the reaction [to his report] was dramatic. Britain . . . breathed an almost audible sigh of relief. Italians remembered their past glories. The non-Communists of France were lifted up. The whole of Western Europe, living under the shadow of the great peril, was more heartened than at any time in four years of daily threats, unending scares . . ." After this statement appeared, TIME heard no dissent or criticism of its appraisal of Eisenhower's achievement.