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Ike had one other major point to clear up: he shares no blame for the policy-making of the two Democratic Administrations he has served with military rank. "I never heard President Roosevelt directly state a single political concept of his in my life, except over the radio ... I have never been a part of any administration. Therefore I have not been a part of ... the total foreign policy of the U.S., nor, indeed, have I been cognizant of many of the factors."
End Runs. Ike stuck to his promise that he would not engage in personalities during the campaign, but he did manage two notable end runs around it. When he was asked about General MacArthur, who has been pointedly anti-Eisenhower and pro-Taft in public speeches, Ike blended charity and wisdom in an effective reply: "I could not have served any man ... as I did General MacArthur, without gaining a tremendous respect for his intellectual and professional capacity. If I had to have any position of great responsibility in this country ... I should certainly want to know what he thought [about the Far East]."
End run No. 2 took care of Joe McCarthy. Said Ike: "Any kind of Communistic, subversive or pinkish influence [must] be uprooted from responsible places in our government. Make no mistake about that. On the other hand, I believe that can be done under competent leadership . . . without besmirching the reputation of any innocent man or condemning by loose association or anything else."
Very Unpleasant. The only question that rocked Ike momentarily was one popped in Manhattan two days later by a crank. The questioner tried to pin down his charge that Eisenhower was associated with Alger Hiss. The question was only half out when Ike reddened, scowled and snapped: "What did you say? What did you say?" Then he quieted the uproar from the legitimate correspondents and said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to say one thing. I do not believe that it is necessary for me to defend myself against [the taint of] Communism or Fascism in any form . . . The man whose name was just mentioned I saw once in my life. I joined the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, and when I went up I found that Mr. Hiss was its president. . . I never saw him before or since ... To my mind, that is a very unpleasant question."