Abilene ? A collection of some 41,600 papers from President Eisenhower have recently been made public by the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, including comments the former Army general made about leading presidential candidates in 1968.

For example, he described Democratic candidates Robert Kennedy as a “voluble adolescent” and George Wallace as “Captain Kidd with a shave.” In the end, Eisenhower endorsed his former vice president Richard Nixon on July 19, 1968.

The collection also includes several letters from famous Americans such as Jack Benny, Nelson Rockefeller, Chuck Percy, Lawrence Welk, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer, Gen. Omar Bradley and Barry Goldwater.

There are also letters from individuals who offered to donate their hearts so Eisenhower could have a transplant because of lingering health problems.