Citizens for Eisenhower: the 1952 Presidential Campaign: Lessons for the Future from One of the Most Successful Independent Political Movements in U.s. History . . .

?Citizens for Eisenhower? provides a roadmap for successful Presidential campaigns. Someone smart enough to use this model in politics could be the next Republican or Democratic President of the United States--unless, of course, he or she is the first Independent President of the United States. As Republican Presidential nominee Dwight D. Eisenhower said, at the time of the 1952 Republican Convention: "I would not have been here as a candidate if it had not been for Charlie Willis and Stan Rumbough, who started the Citizens for Eisenhower? This is the story . . . and here's a sample: author Stan Rumbough's "Introduction." INTRODUCTION Let me set my stage, so to speak. In the beginning, before there was any formal "Eisenhower for President" movement, it was just my partner Charlie Willis, me, one volunteer (Dolly Hirshon), and a plan. We would create so much public demand for Ike to run, that he would have to say "Yes." Within eight months, our organization included thousands of volunteers working out of our headquarters and more than 800 "Eisenhower Clubs" spread over 38 states. . . . by that point, I must acknowledge, we were no longer alone. Myriad other Eisenhower fans and professional politicians were pursuing the same goal . . . and Ike said, "Yes." Our mission, you might say, was over. Well, no. We set another goal: help Ike get the Republican nomination, and we mobilized our forces to sway voters in the states that held primary elections, to charm convention delegates in the others, and to overwhelm attendees at the Chicago nominating convention with hype and hoopla. Ike won. And then . . . the campaign. By this time, "Citizens for Eisenhower" included more than a million volunteers from all political parties or none at all, who wanted to see Ike in the White House. We held rallies for Ike, mobilized crowds for speeches, and participated in the development and sponsorship of the first-ever political spots on television. And we worked a classic get-out-the-vote plan, from manning phone banks to remind, to taking people to the polls to vote. Ike won. This is a memoir, but includes information that comes from outside my memory, and some that is outside my direct experience but is relevant to the topic at hand. My personal staff and I have combed through contemporary newspapers and magazines, memoirs and biographies by or about other participants, more recent scholarly reviews and studies, and, of most import, the archives at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas. From all, I have assembled bits and pieces of our overall story?some vital, some merely interesting, which have never been put together in a coherent narrative. Please understand: "ours" is not a comprehensive history of the Presidential Campaign of 1952. We were supporting, not driving, the campaign, but I do believe, we made a difference. Many stories to be told, many lessons-learned and suggestions to be passed along for future campaigns. But let me start, at the beginning, more or less. How I got involved, in the first place. ? Stanley Rumbough, Jr. Palm Beach, FL, August 2013