Word: press
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Taking a Fling. That job began in 1943, when newly elected Governor Tom Dewey, looking around for an able newsman to serve as his press secretary, picked Jim Hagerty. Against the wishes of his father, who knew young Jim was crossing the fence from the working press, Hagerty accepted. Says he: "I thought I'd take a fling at it." Confident young Governor Dewey's press relations were atrocious at the time, and Jim Hagerty shared with most of the Albany press a marked coolness toward his new boss. He gradually came to like and respect Dewey, although...
...Hagerty first took up golf (he has a sure touch on the greens, but his body sway on the tee leads to flubs, which Frequent Partner Dwight Eisenhower calls "Hagerty Drives"). Hagerty was genuinely fond of Willkie. But his memories of the mismanaged Willkie train make White House Press Secretary Jim Hagerty, who has come to know more about running a tram than most railroad presidents, writhe in professional pain. The Willkie train often pulled out of wayside stations with reporters still standing on the tracks, and Wendell Willkie, thinking they were voters, waved farewell from the rear platform. When...
Slowly, almost despite themselves, Albany reporters found themselves writing stories favorable to Tom Dewey. At his press conference Dewey always announced the big news of the day before newsmen got a chance to ask questions (Dwight Eisenhower often follows the same practice), and Hagerty handed out releases explaining the details. "If it was late and you wanted to get home for dinner," recalls an old Albany hand, "you ended up writing pretty much what Hagerty gave you to write. The stories were always accurate and reasonable, and that made it easier...
...President, and, early in 1952, was part of the tough, experienced political organization that Dewey set to working for Dwight Eisenhower. Hagerty thumped the tub for Ike throughout the preconvention campaign and the general election. The day after Eisenhower's inauguration, Hagerty was sworn in as White House press secretary. The President discovered early in the game that he was hiring no sycophantic flack: Hagerty got stubborn about some since-forgotten point of press policy, and the Eisenhower temper flashed. After several minutes of colorful language, Ike paused for breath, regarded the uncowed Hagerty. Said...
...head out of his office, look around and inquire: "Where's Jim?" Says another White House staffer: "He just wants to know where Jim is because, I guess, he feels better when Jim is around." Usually Hagerty still has to check with the President before answering press questions on substantive issues. "But," he says, "I think I know the President's feelings and philosophy so well that many times I can speak for him without checking. Remember, you live with...