THE WHITE HOUSE Authentic Voice (See Cover)
James Campbell Hagerty left his pale green office, walked 30 brisk steps down the hall, opened a door and took seven more paces to the desk of the President of the U.S. He had a case to make: Dwight Eisenhower had not held a news conference in eleven weeks, and White House Press Secretary Jim Hagerty knew that it was past time for another session of the great give-and-take.
In those eleven weeks President Eisenhower had suffered a stroke, recovered, gone to the NATO conference, joined Secretary of State Dulles in a heavily criticized television report on the NATO meeting, delivered his State of the Union message, written a letter to Soviet Premier Bulganin urging dramatic works of peace, sent his budget to Congress. This added up to an impressive amount of activity. Yet Hagerty keenly realized that it was not enough. Closely tuned to the press and newsmen, he sensed that the clamor for a news conference might soon take a politically unfavorable turn. Closely tuned to the man before him, he knew that the President was in fine shape to get across the feeling of vitality and familiarity with the affairs of the nation that Ike has made the trademark of his news conferences. Dwight Eisenhower listened carefully to Press Secretary Jim Hagerty—and agreed to meet with the press.
For the 125th time in five years, blue-eyed, stocky (5 ft. 9 in., 170 Ibs.) Jim Hagerty, 48, rolled up his sleeves and went to work preparing for a presidential news conference. He read through the script of the last previous press session; reporters have a disquieting habit of reviving old. unanswered questions. For two days he squeezed his memory for news developments that might become press-conference subjects. When the answers seemed to require extensive updating he called for help; e.g., he asked White House Science Adviser James Killian for a report on missile progress.
"Let's Go." By 7:30 o'clock on press conference morning. Hagerty had a full list of possible questions. He read it aloud at breakfast (ulcer-troubled Jim Hagerty drank milk instead of coffee) with senior White House staffers, who contributed information from their own special fields. Economic Adviser Gabriel Hauge was asked to knock off a fast explanatory memo on the budget, had it ready by 9:45 when Hagerty, White House Staff Chief Sherman Adams and other aides trooped into the President's office.