Did Ike like Nixon?
Speaking of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, as we've been doing all week, reminds me that all the advance hoopla for Hillary Clinton's new book is not the first time a memoir has stirred up a lot of interest.
- Hillary Clinton lashes out at critics over Benghazi in new memoir
- Hillary Clinton details truce with Obama in new book
It was much the same when the hero of D-Day, Dwight Eisenhower, released his book
One of the first stops on his book tour was "Face the Nation." Walter Cronkite and a panel of reporters got right to the news, but as it is today, they also asked about the gossip.
Did Ike like his vice president?
Cronkite: "Some of the reviewers on your book have suggested that they find in the book what they interpret as a coolness toward Mr. Nixon. They particularly note that you refer to him throughout as Mr. Nixon or the vice president; it never seems to get very warm in the relationship. If you can clarify your personal relationship, Mr. President?"
Eisenhower: "Well, strangely enough, that impression has just persisted throughout these years and I've never known why. It is like the one that people said back about 1955 or 1956 when they were thinking that he might become the candidate. They said, 'Well, I don't like Nixon,' and you say, 'Why?' 'Don't know -- don't like him.'
"Well, now, in this same way, people have said, 'Well, you don't like Nixon.' Well, nothing could be further from the truth."
Truth to tell, among those who thought Ike didn't like Nixon was Nixon himself, who fretted about it throughout his eight years as Vice President.