once in office, eisenhower was not an effective party leader and nixon increasingly took that role. historian david reinhard concludes that eisenhower lacked sustained political commitment, refused to intervene in state politics, failed to understand the political uses of presidential patronage and overestimated his personal powers of persuasion and conciliation. eisenhower's attempt in 1956 to convert the gop to "modern republicanism" was his "grandest flop". it was a vague proposal with weak staffing and little financing or publicity that caused turmoil inside the local parties across the country. the gop carried both houses of congress in 1952 on eisenhower's coattails, but in 1954 lost both and would not regain the senate until 1980 nor the house until 1994. the problem, says reinhard, was the "voters liked ike—but not the gop".