 
stroke |
While speaking to his secretary on November 25, 1957, Eisenhower found he could not complete his sentences. When examined he had neither motor nor sensory impairment. The diagnosis was occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery. Eisenhower, who was 67 years old and had three years remaining in his second term of office, was already taking coumadin at this time [6a].
After remaining in seclusion for 3 days, Eisenhower returned to work, his speech not yet back to normal. To some, the press coverage of his difficulties in this period seemed "unnecessarily savage and sadistic," since some reporters seemed to be counting the number of goofs Eisenhower made during a press conference. But unlike the 1955 heart attack and the 1956 abdominal operation, the 1957 stroke occurred at a time when important presidential meetings were scheduled [6a]. |
More... |
Vice President Nixon thought Eisenhower reacted to the stroke quite differently
in comparison with the heart attack two years earlier. Nixon saw Eisenhower
"fighting back," unlike the periods of
despondency and indecision associated with the heart attack.
For example, Eisenhower would react belligerently when he felt his staff was
shielding him from an important issue. Once he said "Either I run this
damn show, or I'll resign." His reactions to his speech difficulties
were variable. Among friends he would occasionally laugh off his mistakes,
but on one occasion, when he was having
difficulty speaking, he said with effort "There's nothing the matter
with me, I'm perfectly all right."
Also unlike the heart attack, his advisors worried about
the President's ability to carry on the duties of his office. They worried
whether Eisenhower was mentally impaired and whether he would have
more strokes in the near future. In fact, Eisenhower and Nixon had already
discussed arrangements for transfer of authority before the stroke, and had
written it down in a letter that inadvertantly became public in March 1958.
Of note, Kennedy and Johnson followed the same model.
[6g] |
