Editing Checkers speech (section)

== Fund crisis ==
[[File:President Harry Truman, Adlai Stevenson, and John Sparkman1.jpg|thumb|President [[Harry Truman]] (left, seated) meets with Gov. [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] (right, seated) and Sen. [[John Sparkman]]]]

In 1952, the Republicans chose [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] as their presidential candidate, who then selected Nixon as his [[running mate]], while the [[U.S. Democratic Party|Democrats]] nominated [[Governor of Illinois|Illinois Governor]] [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] for president and [[Alabama]] Senator [[John Sparkman]] for vice president. The California delegation to the [[1952 Republican National Convention]], including Nixon, had been pledged to the state's "[[favorite son]]" candidate, [[Governor of California|Governor]] [[Earl Warren]], who hoped to gain the presidential nomination in a [[brokered convention]].{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=672}} Warren failed in his attempt to gain the nomination, and his supporters alleged that Nixon had worked behind the scenes to nominate Eisenhower despite his pledge to support Warren, and accused him of [[political opportunism]] for accepting the vice-presidential nomination. A disgruntled Warren supporter from [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] leaked the Fund story to several reporters.{{sfn|Hill|September 22, 1952}}

Nixon had campaigned for public integrity in his time in the Senate, even calling for the resignation of his own party chairman, [[Guy Gabrielson]], when the latter was implicated in a loan scandal.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=643–644}} By using such "indignant rhetoric," Nixon had "weakened his own position" when the Fund crisis erupted.{{sfn|Parmet|1990|p=240}}

=== Development of the story ===
On September 14, Nixon was asked about the Fund by reporter [[Peter Edson]] of the [[United Media|Newspaper Enterprise Association]] after the senator completed an appearance on ''[[Meet the Press]]''. Nixon told Edson that the Fund was set up by his supporters to pay political expenses, explained that he had made no effort to find out the names of the donors, and referred Edson to Smith for further information. Edson, and other reporters, did contact Smith, who answered questions about the Fund.{{sfn|Ambrose|1988|p=275}} Three days later, Nixon's campaign train, the "''Dick Nixon Special,''" left [[Pomona, California]], on a whistle-stop campaign tour of the West Coast and [[Rocky Mountain states]].{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=754–756}}
[[File:Checkers speech tour menu.jpg|thumb|left|Menu from "''Dick Nixon Special''"]]

Edson's column on the 18th, which included lengthy quotes by Smith on the supposed safeguards in the Fund, was later called by Nixon, "fair and objective".{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=761–762}} However, [[Leo Katcher]] of the ''[[New York Post]]'' interviewed Smith and wrote a story under the headline "Secret Rich Men's Trust Fund Keeps Nixon in Style Far Beyond His Salary" and referred to the Fund donors as a "millionaires' club".{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=762}} Nixon later praised Katcher's younger brother Edward, also a reporter, for his objectivity, but told him, "your brother Leo is a son of a bitch."{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=762}}

When the ''Dick Nixon Special'' arrived in [[Bakersfield, California]], that day, Nixon, still oblivious to the developing furor, made a speech promoting the Republican ticket, and backing local congressman [[Thomas H. Werdel]]. After the speech, Republican activist Keith McCormac showed Nixon the ''Post'' story, which had been picked up by [[United Press]] under the headline "Nixon Scandal Fund".  According to McCormac, the senator collapsed into his seat in shock, and needed the help of Murray Chotiner, who was again Nixon's campaign manager, and Congressman [[Patrick J. Hillings]] (a Nixon confidant who had succeeded him in the House of Representatives) to return to his compartment.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=763}}

[[Democratic National Committee]] Chairman [[Stephen A. Mitchell (Democratic activist)|Stephen A. Mitchell]] called for Nixon's resignation from the ticket, saying that "Senator Nixon knows that [the Fund] is morally wrong. General Eisenhower knows that it is morally wrong. The American people know that it is morally wrong."{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=765}} On the other hand, Republican Senator [[Karl Mundt]] called the story "a filthy maneuver by left-wingers, fellow travelers, and former communists".{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=765}} Nixon issued a written statement explaining that the fund was to pay political expenses, in lieu of charging them to the taxpayer.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=767}} Newspapers printed increasingly lurid accounts of the Fund and its beneficiary. The ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'' termed Nixon, "the pet protégé of a special interest group of rich southern Californians&nbsp;... their front man, if not, indeed, their lobbyist".{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=763}} The ''[[Pasadena Star-News]]'', meanwhile, reported that one contributor had been appealed to on the grounds that the Nixon family needed a larger home and could not afford a maid.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=768}}

The train reached [[Marysville, California]], on the morning of September 19, and Nixon gave a speech from the rear platform. As the train pulled out, while he remained on the rear platform, someone in the crowd yelled, "What about the $16,000?" (the amount then thought to have been contributed to the Fund). Nixon had the train stopped, and responded that he had been told that if he continued on his political course, "crooks and communists" would smear him. He told the crowd that the Fund had saved the taxpayer money, since it paid for matters that could have been paid for through his Senate expense allowance. He promised to throw the "crooks and communists" out of Washington.{{sfn|Ambrose|1988|pp=278–279}}

[[File:Photograph of Dwight D. Eisenhower - NARA - 518138.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]]]

Eisenhower was on his own train, the ''Look Ahead, Neighbor'', stumping through [[Missouri]], and on the morning of the 19th, his campaign staff made him aware of the gathering storm. Eisenhower publicly called upon Nixon to release all documents relating to the Fund,{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=769–772}} somewhat to the dismay of Chotiner, who wondered, "What more does the general require than the senator's word?"{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=775}} Eisenhower aides contacted the senior Republican senator from California, [[William Knowland]], and persuaded him to fly from [[Territory of Hawaii|Hawaii]] to join the Eisenhower train and be available as a potential replacement running mate.{{sfn|Halberstam|1993|pp=239–240}}

By this time, Nixon campaign headquarters was receiving a flood of messages, calling on Nixon to resign from the ticket.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=774}} When Eisenhower's train stopped for the candidate to make speeches, he faced protesters with signs reading "Donate Here to Help Poor Richard Nixon".{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=776–778}}  The influential ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and ''[[New York Herald-Tribune]]'' both called for Nixon to leave the ticket, facts which Chotiner did not tell his candidate;  Nixon learned them from a questioning reporter. Over 100 newspapers would editorialize about the Fund on the morning of September 20, opinion running two to one against Nixon.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=779–781}} As his train stopped in [[Eugene, Oregon]], Nixon was met with protestors' signs referencing [[Pat Nixon|his wife]]: "Pat, What Are You Going to Do With the Bribe Money?" and "No Mink Coats for Nixon—Just Cold Cash".  He angrily responded with a phrase which would be echoed in the Checkers speech. After stating that there were no mink coats for the Nixons, he said that he was "proud of the fact that Pat Nixon wears a good Republican cloth coat, and she's going to continue to".{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=776–778}}

Politicians from both parties opined on the propriety of the Fund and on what Nixon should do, most in accord with their political affiliation.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=786–787}} Democratic presidential candidate Stevenson, though, publicly reserved judgment, leading Chotiner to suspect "that Stevenson is afraid of something here. I bet he has something to hide."{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=775}}

=== Idea for a speech ===
On September 20, Republican National Committee official Bob Humphreys first suggested that Nixon give a televised speech to the nation to explain his position. RNC chairman and future [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] [[Arthur Summerfield]] thought well of the idea, but was concerned about the expense.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=782}} That evening, Nixon conferred with his aides, who unanimously urged him not to resign from the ticket. Humphreys called Chotiner at Nixon's hotel in [[Portland, Oregon]] that evening, and the campaign manager realized that the broadcast was the best opportunity for Nixon to make his case. Humphreys suggested Nixon appear on ''Meet the Press'', but Chotiner rejected the suggestion, insisting that his candidate must have complete control of the broadcast "without interruption by possibly unfriendly press questions".  Humphreys mentioned that Summerfield was concerned about the cost of a television broadcast, but Chotiner noted that the cost of reprinting all campaign materials to reflect a change on the ticket would be far more than that of a telecast.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=794–795}}

The avalanche of editorial opinion continued the following day, Sunday, September 21, but Eisenhower continued to withhold judgment. Eisenhower considered asking retired [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] Justice [[Owen Roberts]] to evaluate the legality of the Fund, but time constraints ruled him out. Eisenhower decided to ask the Los Angeles law firm [[Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher]] for a legal opinion, while asking the accounting firm [[Price Waterhouse]] to audit the Fund's records. Nixon, meanwhile, was encouraged by a supportive telegram from [[Hannah Milhous Nixon|his mother]] and discouraged by one from former Minnesota governor [[Harold Stassen]] urging him to resign from the ticket.{{sfn|Black|2007|pp=236–239}} New York Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey]], a Nixon supporter, called to tell Nixon that most Eisenhower aides favored his removal, and that if Nixon made the telecast, he should call for people to write to express their opinions. Dewey added that if the response was not strongly pro-Nixon, then he should leave the ticket.{{sfn|Ambrose|1988|pp=281–282}}

Nixon finally got a call from Eisenhower at 10:00&nbsp;pm, [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific Time]], Sunday night. Eisenhower expressed a reluctance to see him leave the ticket, and felt that he should have a chance to make his case to the American people. Nixon enquired if Eisenhower would be able to make a decision on whether to keep him as the running mate immediately after the broadcast, and when Eisenhower equivocated, he angrily burst out: "General, there comes a time in matters like this when you've either got to shit or get off the pot."{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=807}} Eisenhower replied that it might take three or four days to gauge public reaction.{{sfn|Ambrose|1988|pp=281–282}}

=== Preparation and setting ===
[[File:AvalonTheater.JPG|thumb|The El Capitan Theatre, now known as the [[Avalon Hollywood]]]]

Through the night to the morning of September 22, Eisenhower and Nixon aides arranged the speech. The RNC worked to raise the $75,000 ({{Inflation|US|75000|1952|fmt=eq|r=-4}}) needed to buy the half-hour of television time, while the Eisenhower staff secured sixty [[NBC]] stations to telecast the speech, with radio coverage from [[CBS]] and [[Mutual Broadcasting System|Mutual]]. The Nixon staff initially advocated a half-hour that evening, Monday, September 22, to follow the immensely popular ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' show, but when Nixon indicated he could not be ready that soon, settled for 6:30&nbsp;pm Tuesday night, 9:30&nbsp;pm in the East, following the almost equally popular ''[[Texaco Star Theater]]'', starring [[Milton Berle]].{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=808–809}} The campaign arranged to use the [[Avalon Hollywood|El Capitan Theatre]], in Hollywood, where several NBC variety shows were then broadcast, since its lighting was superior to that of [[The Burbank Studios#History|NBC Radio City West]].{{sfn|Black|2007|p=247}} Nixon told the press that he would be addressing the nation on television, but refused to take any questions about what he might say.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=808–809}}

On Monday morning, Nixon flew to Los Angeles, making notes for his speech aboard the plane. He jotted down the line he had said in Eugene regarding his wife's coat. He made notes concerning the family finances, upsetting Pat Nixon, who asked why people had to know their financial details. Nixon responded that people in politics live in a fishbowl. He recalled the Fala speech, in which Franklin Roosevelt had sarcastically responded to Republican claims he had sent a destroyer to fetch his dog, Fala, and remembered the dog his children had recently received:{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=813–814}} A [[Texas]] traveling salesman named [[Lou Carrol]] had read a report that Pat Nixon said her children [[Patricia Nixon Cox|Tricia]] and [[Julie Nixon Eisenhower|Julie]] "longed" for a dog, and his own dog, an [[American Cocker Spaniel]], had just had a litter. After a [[telegram]] exchange, he crated the puppy and shipped it by rail to the Nixons, and six-year-old Tricia Nixon named the dog "Checkers".{{sfn|Fox|May 17, 2006}} Nixon decided that including the anecdote evoking FDR would needle his enemies and delight his friends.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=813–814}}

When the plane reached Los Angeles, Nixon secluded himself in a suite in [[Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)|The Ambassador Hotel]], letting no one except his wife, Chotiner, and attorney and adviser [[William P. Rogers]] have any hint what he was planning. He called two professors he knew at his alma mater, [[Whittier College]], seeking appropriate [[Abraham Lincoln]] quotes. They called back with two suggestions, one of which he used.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=814–815}} Unwilling to have his message filtered, Nixon adamantly refused to provide the media with any advance text of his speech, convinced that it would reduce the size of his audience.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=819}} Without any hard information on what would be said during the speech, rumors flew through the media. UPI reported that Nixon would resign from the ticket well before the scheduled time for the speech. On the evening of the 22nd, the media broke the story that Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson had a similar fund, as Chotiner had predicted.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=814–815}} The Stevenson information had been leaked by Bob Humphreys at the RNC, but as he later ruefully noted, "Nobody paid much attention to it."{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=816}}

The morning of the 23rd, the day of the speech, brought the reports from the lawyers,{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=816}} who opined that it was legal for a senator to accept expense reimbursements,{{sfn|Hill|September 24, 1952}} and from the accountants, who stated that there was no evidence of misappropriation of money. The Fund was to be dissolved, and gifts accepted since Nixon's nomination were to be accounted for as campaign contributions.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=816}} Despite the reports, Eisenhower had second thoughts about relying on the success of the speech. He told an aide to call Governor Dewey, who was to call Nixon and instruct him to close his speech with his resignation from the ticket. Believing they had resolved the situation at last, Eisenhower and his staff had a relaxed dinner and began to prepare for his own speech that evening, before 15,000 Republican supporters in Cleveland.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=817–818}}

At 4:30&nbsp;pm, Nixon, Chotiner, and Rogers were discussing where the public should be told to send their responses to the speech, when a Dewey aide telephoned for Nixon. Reluctantly, suspecting the reason for the call, Chotiner brought Nixon to the phone to speak with the New York governor. Dewey told Nixon that Eisenhower's aides were unanimous that Nixon must resign, though Dewey did not agree, and that Nixon was to so state at the end of his telecast. Nixon asked what Eisenhower wanted him to do. Dewey hedged, stating that he had not spoken with the presidential candidate himself, but that the word had come from such close aides to Eisenhower that the demand had to represent the general's view. Nixon replied that it was very late for him to change his remarks; Dewey assured him he need not do so, but simply add at the end his resignation from the ticket and his insistence that Eisenhower accept it. Dewey suggested he even announce his resignation from the Senate and his intent to run in the special election which would follow—he was sure Nixon would be returned with a huge majority, thus vindicating him. Nixon remained silent for some time, and when Dewey asked him what he would do, the senator told him that he did not know, and if Eisenhower's aides wanted to find out, they could watch just like everyone else. Before slamming down the receiver, Nixon added, "And tell them I know something about politics, too!"{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=821–823}}

Nixon, somewhat dazed by the conversation with Dewey, dressed for the speech and reviewed his notes. Chotiner came into Nixon's room, and told him that if he was forced off the ticket, Chotiner would call a huge press conference and reveal all the maneuvering that had led to Nixon's departure; Chotiner added that the resulting furor would mean nothing to either of the two men, since they would be through with politics anyway. Nixon later stated that Chotiner's promise broke the tension and gave him a needed lift.{{sfn|Madden|October 12, 1970}} The Nixons and the campaign staff journeyed to the El Capitan, where they were met by a cheering group of [[Young Republicans]] on the sidewalk outside, including future Nixon [[White House Chief of Staff]] [[H. R. Haldeman]].{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=825}} In Cleveland, General and [[Mamie Eisenhower]], with the general's aides, prepared to watch the speech on television in the manager's office above the Cleveland [[Public Auditorium]], where the presidential candidate was to speak.{{sfn|Black|2007|p=247}}