Yet in the election of 1952 he did not rely on his reputation as an apolitical soldier to stay above the fray of the campaign. Quite the opposite. Rather than playing it safe, rising above faction and controversy, coasting on his name recognition, Eisenhower jumped into the mess of electoral politics with gusto. In running for president, he was vehement, polemical, and partisan. He lambasted the Truman administration, heaped abuse on the New Deal, and curried favor with the right wing of his party.
