THE PRESIDENCY: Dienbienphu to Texas City

When President Eisenhower strode into his press-conference room one morning last week, 212 inquisitive reporters were waiting. The President gave them a quick smile, squared his shoulders to face their barrage of straight and curved questions. In the next 27 minutes, the press and the President provided ample evidence that 1) the President of the U.S. faces more big and little problems than any other man in the world, and 2) he is fully expected to talk about any or all of them, in minute detail, and on the spur of the moment.

Ranging around the world from Dienbienphu to Texas City, the reporters moved along a wide radius of Government problems. The first question was expected: How did the President feel about Senator McCarthy's determination to cross-examine witnesses in the projected Army v. McCarthy hearings? The President stayed clear of the specifics, but he quickly stated the principle he would apply to the case: "In America, if a man is a party to a dispute, directly or indirectly, he does not sit in judgment on his own case."

Straightening the Question. Before long, the questioning turned to the state of business in the U.S. At a previous conference, the President had said that March would be a key month in determining whether Government would have to take drastic steps to curb unemployment. A reporter, asserting that unemployment had continued to rise during March, asked if the President thought that the Government should adopt some new course of action. First, the President had to straighten out the question: the March figures were not all in, would not be complete for some time. Then he went on to give his answer: he has discussions every single day on the state of the economy; many steps, e.g., the easing of credit, have already been taken; the situation is being watched constantly and closely; the Administration does not see any need for a new emergency program at this time.

From time to time, the questions focused on Capitol Hill. Was the President satisfied with the progress his program was making in Congress? Satisfied, said he, was difficult to define. But he seized an opportunity to praise the House of Representatives for doing a magnificent job, particularly in connection with taxes.

Reading a Lecture. The questioners' interest darted to Indo-China. Would the President give a "soldier's appreciation" of the battle for Dienbienphu? Old Soldier Dwight Eisenhower readily obliged, and in the course of his remarks read a dual lecture to the French. One of the greatest problems, he said, is that the defenders (French and Vietnamese forces) are trying to hold a valley from attackers (the Communist Viet Minh) who control the flanking ridges. It was an indirect suggestion that the French pay more attention to the old military axiom: take the high ground. The President went on to recall a remark he made to a visiting Frenchman—presumably General Paul Ely, Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces: if he—Ike—were in command, Colonel Christian de Castries, commander of the Dienbienphu defenders (see FOREIGN NEWS), would have been a general day before yesterday. More than admiration for De Castries was contained in this. The President's easy observation was a reflection of the U.S. military view that engagements as important as Dienbienphu call for a general on the spot.