<--PREV Doc #547  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #549 Document #548; November 19, 1953 To William Edward Robinson Series: EM, AWF, Name Series The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, Volume XIV - The Presidency: The Middle Way Part III: The Space Age Begins; October 1957 to January 1958 Chapter 7: Beef and Budgets   Dear Bill: I will certainly be glad to have your report on your effort to build up real machinery to operate in this field of public relations.1 I trust I am going to see you in Augusta--is this correct?2 As ever 1 In a letter of November 17 Robinson said that he and Republican National Committee Chairman Leonard Hall had covered in detail the "definite plans and hopes for the sales and public relations project" and that Hall had seemed to be "both interested and enthusiastic about the practical benefits that would accrue to him and all concerned." Robinson, who had discussed public relations with Eisenhower on November 9, wrote that he would have "some tangible things to say" in the coming week (AWF/N). He would finally see the President on January 24, and the following day he would submit his report (see Robinson to Whitman, Jan. 25, 1954; and "A Proposal for the Organization of a Public Opinion Division Within the Republican National Committee," Jan. 8, 1954, both in ibid.). Robinson's plan sought to "mobilize public opinion, regardless of party, behind the current Administration," which he likened to a "fine business organization with a good product and no sales department." He acknowledged that the President, "even without the benefit of a sales department," enjoyed a "remarkably high level of popularity with the people." It was nevertheless necessary, Robinson said, to build up membership in the Republican party "as an insurance for the future public support of the Administration programs and policies." Robinson proposed as a first step the development of a Republican "trademark, a tag" as the "distinguishing mark of the Party." He chose the word strong, and went on at length to support his theory that the central theme of the Administration should be its strength. Robinson envisioned a "truly professional set-up" under the direction of an executive director who would supervise the work of five divisions, including research, political analysis, creative staff, media contact or control, and production. He thought that the director should be responsible to the White House, the Strategy Committee, and the chairman of the Republican National Committee. Further, Robinson wrote, the director should have ready access to all principals in the Administration and should maintain a close liaison with other public relations departments in the government. Robinson was but one of Eisenhower's advisers who argued that his Administration needed a public relations program (see, for example, nos. 439 and 530). As the 1954 elections approached, the President had begun to see the importance of shaping public opinion. For his account of the issues facing the Administration at the close of his first year in office see his memoir Mandate for Change, pp. 428-42. For developments see no. 555. 2 The Eisenhowers would spend their Thanksgiving holiday in Augusta, Georgia (see no. 500). Bibliographic reference to this document: Eisenhower, Dwight D. To William Edward Robinson, 19 November 1953. In The Papers of Dwight David Eisenhower, ed. L. Galambos and D. van Ee, doc. 548. World Wide Web facsimile by The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission of the print edition; Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/documents/548.cfm <--PREV Doc #547  |  Memorial Commission Home Page  |  First Term Table of Contents  |  Presidential Papers Home Page  |  Doc#  |  NEXT--> Doc #549

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