With less than three minutes left in the allotted time , Nixon finally addressed the question : Would he stay or would he go ? He indicated that he did not think he should go . " Let me say this : I do n't believe that I ought to quit because I 'm not a quitter . And , incidentally , Pat 's not a quitter . After all , her name was Patricia Ryan and she was born on St. Patrick 's Day , and you know the Irish never quit . " Seizing on the fact that the Republican National Convention had routinely given the RNC the power to fill vacancies on the ticket , Nixon evaded Eisenhower 's power as the general again slammed his pencil down , this time breaking it : Advancing towards the camera , the candidate completed the speech by praising Eisenhower , " He 's a great man . And a vote for Eisenhower is a vote for what 's good for America . " 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 , the candidate 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 . " Despite the senator 's despair , his wife was convinced that her husband had vindicated himself . Over sixty million Americans had watched or listened to the speech , including the largest television audience up to that point
Republican National Convention
1952 Republican National Convention
Checkers speech