January 25, 1956 – 60 years ago today, President Eisenhower faced a barrage of Journalists inquiries as part of his regular routine of keeping the Press informed about the goings on at the White House. The press conferences were curtailed for a while, and had only recently started back up a week earlier, the first time since the President suffered his serious heart attack several months earlier.
So the range of questions was wide, but mostly political – most having to do with Eisenhower’s plans for the 1956 Presidential election. If he was going to run – if Nixon was still going to be his running mate and how his family would feel should Ike decide to run again – and more importantly; how was his health.
There were other questions – questions regarding the issue of Civil Rights; the bubbling situation happening in the South and how the Southern vote was going to fare with the up coming election.
Questions over the Cold War – the seemingly endless issue of nuclear disarmament – the peace feelers. The Middle East – the trouble brewing between Egypt and Israel and how it was going to be resolved. The issue over long-term Foreign Aid.
And as always, the issues and questions over the Economy were prevalent. The tax cut – the Defense Spending – Schools. Where was the money coming from – what programs were going to be sacrificed in order to fund other programs – were we heading to a recession or were we wandering towards inflation.
All issues (with the exception of Cold War topics) probably just as relevant now as they were 60 years ago. The world may have changed in innumerable ways, but the fundamentals were still the same – peace, politics and the economy – it’s all the same.
To get an idea of the issues facing America (and the world) 60 years ago today, have a listen to this Presidential news conference, as carried (at least most of it) by NBC Radio on January 25, 1956.
