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Actually, the speech was cut to fit the charge it answered. The attack on Nixon's fund as picked up by the New York Post (see PRESS) derived most of its power from the assumption that some of the mud would stick and thus disqualify Nixon (and, through the doctrine of guilt by association, Eisenhower) from continuing a moral crusade against corruption & Communism. The specific legal and moral case against Nixon was so foggy and so vague that Nixon would have made the mistake of his life if he had tried to answer with specific legal or ethical arguments. What he had to dispose of was not a charge that he had violated a specific ethical principle; he had to deal with the "Caesar's wife" argument, the vague but very widespread suspicion that he was somehow not an honest man. When he finished dealing with the attack, he had established himself as a man of integrity and courage. In 30 minutes, by the exposure of his personality, he had changed from a liability to his party to a shining asset.
"We've Only Begun." One man who felt the courage in the speech was Ike Eisenhower—perhaps the one man whom Nixon had uppermost in his mind during the broadcast. Soon after he was off the air Nixon got Ike's telegram of congratulation (see below). There was still no blanket vindication, but Ike suggested a meeting with Nixon in Wheeling, W. Va. Said Nixon happily, as he hopped off for Wheeling from Stapleton airport in Denver: "I'm going to Wheeling to meet the man there who will be the next President of the United States ... I can tell you we've just begun to fight."