51 Years Ago In TIME

General Wesley Clark, the latest Democrat to enter the race for President, hopes to follow in the footsteps of another general turned politician, DWIGHT EISENHOWER, whose first campaign swing drew the attention of a TIME cover story:

They saw Ike, and they liked what they saw. They liked him because he turned out to be an amazingly good campaigner: he could shake a man's hand and say the gracious word graciously; he could catch a delegate's name and remember it 24 hours later; and he could shoulder gently through a harassing crowd and never get harassed. They liked him for his strong, vigorous manner of speech, for his quiet control when schedules collapsed or plans were drenched with rain, and for an overriding, innate kindliness and modesty. But most of all, they liked him in a way they could scarcely explain. They liked Ike because, when they saw him and heard him talk, he made them proud of themselves and all the half-forgotten best that was in them and in the nation. It was a crashing conquest for the man who flew westward out of Washington last week, a known soldier but an unknown candidate. --TIME, June 16, 1952