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Four Threats. First he established that he was a Republican and gave his reasons why. "Evils which can ultimately throttle free government are present in today's situation," he said. He listed "four of these threats, which seem to me to be dangerous lapses from the American way of life . . . disunity, inflation, excessive taxation, bureaucracy."
He scrupulously mentioned no names, but touched a responsive chord when he said: "One party has been in power too long in this country." On foreign affairs, where he could have hit hard, he seemed to pull his punches. "The mystery must be removed from foreign relations—our essential requirements and objectives must be clearly set forth," he said. "Americans instinctively and properly dread the kind of secrecy that surrounded Yalta . . . China was lost to the free world in one of the greatest international disasters of our times—a type of tragedy that must not be repeated."
Cut away from the drama of Abilene, Ike's formal address sounded like too many political speeches ("Five-star generalities," snorted the pro-Taft Chicago Tribune). Ike's speaking ability was not of high enough order to sustain the thread of meaning through some crudely tailored sentences. Overelaborate West Point English, completely absent from his morning talk in the field, sat stodgily on the afternoon address. (Ike wrote the speech in Paris, and it was pawed over by a committee of his strategists in the U.S.). Radio listeners liked it least. For those at Abilene and for the estimated ten million who saw Ike deliver it on television, the speech was redeemed by the speaker. In his face were force, sincerity and spontaneity; it was a very fine performance by a man who understood, and cared about, what he was saying.
Tactful Command. The next day brought the toughest ordeal in the candidate's initiation—the press conference. Just before 9 o'clock, he walked on the stage of Abilene's little Plaza Theater to face the popping flashbulbs of the still photographers, the batteries of photo-floods from the newsreels and television cameras, and 300 reporters. He had not counted on television (see PRESS), and took his stand at the seven microphones with his head ducked and a frown on his face. But when he looked out into the glare and promised to answer "as many questions as I can in a period of 45 minutes," he took tactical and tactful command over the situation and he never once lost it, either at Abilene or at his subsequent press conference in New York.
On the Record. It was clear at the outset that Ike wanted to get on the record just what brand of domestic Republican he was. Without waiting for a question, he identified as the basis of his "political philosophy" a joint declaration by the Republicans in Congress and by the Republican National Committee on Feb. 6, 1950. Few reporters could remember it. But later they recalled that the "liberty v. socialism" theme of the statement was more conservative than the 1948 Republican platform, that it was drafted by Bob Taft and opposed at the time by Ike's prime campaign worker, Massachusetts' Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.