http://www.historywise.com/KoTrain/Courses/DE/DE_Campaigns_and_Elections.htm....(
the 1952 race)
Nixon's secret slush fund infuriated Eisenhower, who had never liked Nixon from the start. The scandal involved charges that as a senator, Nixon had accepted $18,000 from his supporters for personal expenses. These revelations hurt Ike's promise to have a Republican administration that would "be as clean as a hound's tooth." He was ready to dump Nixon but refused to be rushed. Ike's hesitancy gave Nixon the opportunity to go on national television to appeal to the American people. In a masterful televised performance, Nixon denied that he had done anything wrong, and vowed not to give up his daughter's little dog, Checkers, also a gift to the family, no matter what the consequence. The public responded to the "Checkers Speech" with at outpouring of emotional support, and Ike reluctantly kept his "boy" (as he now referred to Nixon) on the ticket.
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The Campaign and Election of 1956
The election in 1956 turned on the question of Eisenhower's health and his foreign policy over the last four years. One year before the election, it seemed that it would be an easy victory for Eisenhower no matter who the Democrats ran. Ike was an enormously popular president. He had kept his promise to end the fighting in Korea (by means of a cease-fire rather than an armistice), and the economy was booming. Then, on September 23, 1955, after playing eighteen holes of golf, Eisenhower suffered a severe heart attack. His recovery lasted for three months, during which time his chief of staff, Sherman Adams, ran executive affairs, and Richard Nixon acted correctly and circumspectly to assist him. Fully recovered by January of 1956, Eisenhower announced that he would run again. Although Ike's popularity polls were high (77 percent), his health and Richard Nixon (who was next in line for the presidency should Ike die in office) became political hot potatoes.
Although Ike supported Nixon publicly, he privately disliked him. When asked if Nixon would be on the ticket, Ike refused to endorse him, saying that the nominating convention would have to decide. He told Nixon that he should consider stepping down for a cabinet post. Nixon campaigned vigorously, however, to convince the party regulars to keep him on the ticket. As a result, Nixon survived as Ike's running mate when the nominating convention ballots were tallied.
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