ABSTRACT
Spurred by the Governors’ manifesto, the Dwight D. Eisenhower camp moved to bring the issue to the convention floor and before the public. Even the site, the International Amphitheater rather than the more accessible Chicago Stadium, was chosen because it was more suitable for TV. The plan proposed by the Eisenhower people was simple and reasonable. The psychological momentum was obvious. But there was an important practical side as well. The vote cost Taft a net of thirty-two in seating contests since fifty of these delegates favored him and eighteen were for Eisenhower. New York Times political correspondent Anne O’Hare McCormick observed that the absence of anyone to express General Eisenhower’s views was a “notable feature of the convention” and that the “set speeches were obviously keyed to proclaim a policy completely at odds with many of the ideas for which General Eisenhower stands.” Of most importance to General Eisenhower, however, was that the platform had rejected isolationism.
