Happy Birthday to Ike

Tom Dewey looked a television camera in the eye one afternoon this week and quietly set 1952 Republican presidential preliminaries spinning like a helicopter rotor. Announcing with a studied choice of words that he was out of the race for the presidency in 1952, he went on to make a bigger Page One story: Tom Dewey was for General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

"I will under no circumstances that I can conceive of or that would possibly exist, accept the nomination for President in 1952," he told a questioner on NBC's Meet the Press show, "and I doubt if there is any possibility that the situation would ever arise thereafter."

Did he have any candidates in mind? Dewey's answer had the ring of a nominating speech:

"Well, it's a little early, but we have in New York a very great world figure, the president of Columbia University, one of the greatest soldiers of our history, a fine educator, a man who really understands the problems of the world, and if I should be re-elected governor and have influence with the New York delegation, I would recommend to them that they support General Eisenhower for President if he would accept the draft."

Dewey didn't know whether Ike was willing, he added, or even whether the general was a Republican. "I have listened to some of his speeches," said he, "and I certainly should think that his philosophy would be in accordance with my own."

When reporters rapped on Ike's door at Columbia a few minutes later, the general was celebrating his 60th birthday and had no comment. The following afternoon Ike announced he was "complimented," "grateful," but happy in his job at Columbia.

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