Editing Checkers speech (section)

== Aftermath ==

=== Candidates and public ===
Nixon was initially convinced that the speech was a failure. Despite the congratulations of Rogers and Chotiner, and the fact that one of the cameramen had tears running down his face, he reproved himself for not mentioning the address of the Republican National Committee. Though the Young Republicans continued their applause as the Nixon party left the theatre, he fixed on an [[Irish Setter]] running alongside his car as it pulled away from the curb. "Well, we made a hit in the dog world anyway."{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=836}} Despite the senator's despair, his wife was convinced that her husband had vindicated himself.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=837}} Over sixty million Americans had watched or listened to the speech, including the largest television audience up to that point.{{sfn|Thompson|2000|p=291}}

Nixon had left the Ambassador with the lobby quiet; he returned to a mob scene, and he was soon surrounded by well-wishers congratulating him. The party was able to get through to his suite, and after a few minutes of tense quiet, calls and telegrams began to pour in "from everywhere" praising the speech and urging him to remain on the ticket—but no word came from Eisenhower in Cleveland.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=839}}

[[File:Cleveaud.jpg|thumb|The Cleveland [[Public Auditorium]], site of the Republican fundraiser on September 23, 1952]]

In Cleveland, as the speech concluded, General Eisenhower turned to RNC Chairman Summerfield, "Well, Arthur, you sure got your money's worth."{{sfn|Black|2007|pp=251–252}} Mamie Eisenhower was in tears, and the general told her that Nixon was a completely honest man. The 15,000&nbsp;supporters waiting for Eisenhower to speak had heard the Checkers speech over the hall's public address system, and when Congressman [[George H. Bender]] took the microphone and asked the crowd, "Are you in favor of Nixon?", pandemonium ensued.{{sfn|Black|2007|pp=251–252}} As the crowd below chanted, "We want Nixon!", Eisenhower quickly revised his speech.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=836}}

Both Eisenhower's speech to the excited crowd and telegram to his running mate were noncommittal. The general applauded his running mate for his speech, but stated that the two had to meet face to face before a final decision could be made. While Eisenhower affirmed that the RNC had the power to elect a replacement candidate, Eisenhower indicated that the committee would, most likely, be guided by his wishes. Eisenhower asked Nixon to meet with him in person in [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]], [[West Virginia]], where their campaign was next scheduled to go.{{sfn|Black|2007|pp=253–255}} Eisenhower's telegram was delayed in transmission and lost among the flood being sent to Nixon's suite, and the latter learned of his running mate's position from a wire service report.{{sfn|Bochin|1990|p=42}}

When he heard of Eisenhower's posture, Nixon's happiness at what he had finally been convinced was a ''[[wiktionary:tour de force|tour de force]]'' turned to fury, and he stated that if the speech did not satisfy Eisenhower, nothing he could do would. He called in his secretary, [[Rose Mary Woods]], and dictated a telegram to the RNC resigning from the ticket. As Woods left the room with her notes, Chotiner stopped her, took the sheet, and ripped it up. While Chotiner understood Nixon's rage, he felt that the resignation was premature. The campaign manager urged Nixon simply to allow the public wave of support to pressure Eisenhower. He suggested that instead of going to Wheeling as Eisenhower had requested, that they resume the train tour in [[Missoula, Montana|Missoula]], [[Montana]]. Nixon sent Eisenhower a curt acknowledgment of his telegram, and a suggestion that they meet the following week in [[Washington, D.C.]]{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=840}} Chotiner then called Summerfield, telling him that Nixon felt he had been abused enough, and would not meet with Eisenhower until Summerfield was able to promise, on his word of honor, that Nixon would be confirmed as nominee at that meeting. "Dick is not going to be placed in the position of a little boy going somewhere to beg for forgiveness."{{sfn|Black|2007|p=256}}

Just before the Nixon party left for the airport, Nixon friend and journalist Bert Andrews managed to reach him by phone.{{sfn|Nixon|1962|p=122}} Andrews told Nixon that he should go to Wheeling; that public reaction had already foreordained the outcome. He advised Nixon that he should accede to Eisenhower's desire to make the inevitable decision in his own way, advice Nixon acknowledged "had the ring of truth".{{sfn|Nixon|1962|p=122}} Nonetheless, the Nixon party flew to Missoula.{{sfn|Nixon|1962|p=122}}

[[File:Checktels.JPG|thumb|left|Supportive telegrams sent after the Checkers speech]]

By this time, the first wave of what would eventually be more than four million letters, telegrams, postcards, and phone calls had flooded into RNC headquarters and other political offices. While a later study found that only about 7 percent of these communications addressed any substantive issue, they still ran 75 to one in favor of Nixon. Nixon skeptics joined in; both Stassen and Dewey sent congratulatory telegrams. Many letters included contributions to help pay for the cost of the broadcast; the RNC eventually recouped four-fifths of the $75,000 cost.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=844–845}} Newspaper switchboards were jammed with calls from people seeking the RNC's address, while [[Western Union]] was caught off guard by Nixon's request that listeners wire the RNC, and had no extra help on hand.{{sfn|''The New York Times''|September 24, 1952}} Checkers herself received enough dog food to last a year, and hundreds of collars, leashes, and toys.{{sfn|Bochin|1990|p=41}}

Politicians generally reacted along party lines, with Republican Senator Mundt of South Dakota stating, "Nixon's speech is complete vindication against one of the most vicious smears in American history."{{sfn|''The New York Times''|September 24, 1952}} Democratic Senator [[Clinton Presba Anderson|Clinton Anderson]] of New Mexico stated, "I wish he had talked about the 18,000 bucks—not the puppy dog&nbsp;... Suppose someone sets up a fund to buy my meals. I could say I didn't get one red cent of the money."{{sfn|''The New York Times''|September 24, 1952}}

[[File:Nixon 1952 postcard.jpg|thumb|Preprinted postcard sent by Nixon to supporters who had written after the speech]]

On the morning of September 24, Summerfield and Humphreys called Nixon at his Missoula hotel. After securing his agreement to fly to Wheeling if Eisenhower agreed to Chotiner's terms, the two reached Eisenhower and campaign leader New Hampshire Governor [[Sherman Adams]] in [[Portsmouth, Ohio]], en route to Wheeling, and briefed them on the conversation with Nixon and on the flood of communications from the public. Eisenhower and Adams agreed that Nixon could come to Wheeling with the assurance he would remain on the ticket. After making speeches in Missoula and at a stop in [[Denver]], and after Eisenhower made his own speech announcing that his running mate had been the victim of an "attempted smear," Nixon arrived in Wheeling late in the day on the 24th.{{sfn|Black|2007|p=258}} Eisenhower came to the airport to meet the plane, and hurried up the steps to greet the Nixons when the door was opened.{{sfn|Nixon|1962|p=123}}

The candidates waved at the crowd of 3,000 which had come to meet the plane, and rode together, with Nixon in place of honor, to a rally at [[Wheeling Island Stadium|City Island Stadium]] as Eisenhower chatted to Nixon as if the crisis had never occurred. At the stadium, Eisenhower introduced Nixon as a "colleague" who had been subject to "a vicious and unprincipled attack" but who had "vindicated himself" and who "stood higher than ever before".{{sfn|Black|2007|p=259}} Eisenhower finished by reading two telegrams, one from Nixon's mother assuring Eisenhower of her son's integrity, and the second from Summerfield stating that the RNC had voted unanimously to retain Nixon on the ticket. Nixon then spoke, telling the crowd that this was one of two moments when he was most proud to be an American; the other had been at the victory parade in New York in 1945, when he had seen General Eisenhower go by. He called the Wheeling rally "the greatest moment of my life".{{sfn|Black|2007|p=259}}

=== Media reaction ===
Editorial reaction to the address was divided. ''The New York Times'', which had criticized Nixon, and had even run stories with claims that he was under criminal investigation for the Fund, praised Nixon's "composure and assurance".{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=844}}{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=845}} The ''[[New York Journal American]]'' gushed, "He was in our opinion, simply magnificent. We know of no other way to say it."{{sfn|''The Washington Post''|September 25, 1952}} The ''[[Pittsburgh Press]]'' called the address "an extraordinary speech".{{sfn|''The Washington Post''|September 25, 1952}}  The ''[[Mobile Register]]'' stated that the Fund crisis "confronted [Nixon] with an unsought opportunity which he made the most of."{{sfn|Mobile Register|p=8}}

However, some newspapers disagreed. ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' noted that Nixon "did not deal in any way with the underlying question of propriety," while the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' called the address "a carefully contrived soap opera".{{sfn|''The Washington Post''|September 25, 1952}} Columnist [[Walter Lippmann]] called the wave of support for Nixon "disturbing&nbsp;... with all the magnification of modern electronics, simply mob law;"{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=854}} discussing the speech with a dinner guest, he said, "That must be the most demeaning experience my country has ever had to bear."{{sfn|Ambrose|1988|p=289}} Columnist Thomas Stokes criticized Eisenhower for equivocating on the question of his running mate until "the young man himself—the accused—had to step in and take over. And how he took over!"{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=854}} Through his presidency, Eisenhower would continue to be accused of being indecisive.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=854}}

Nixon refused to answer further questions about the Fund, and attention turned to Stevenson's fund, especially as its details became clear. Governor Stevenson's fund, which proved to total $146,000, had been used for such expenditures as Christmas gifts to reporters, dues for private clubs, and to hire an orchestra for a dance his son was hosting. Taking a leaf from Nixon's book, the Democrats refused to answer questions about Stevenson's fund. Both parties were eager to bury the matter, and the story died.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=851–852}}