The two highlights I remember from the time (but I don't know whether '52 or '56)
Ike's thugs storming Taft supporters with "Thou shalt not steal" signs. And Stevenson giving the interview with the hole in his shoe.
And of course, in the '52 campaign, the little ditty I learned from my classmates in public school: "Shoot that cat. shoot that rat. shoot that dirty democrat". In hindsight, I think I lived in a Republican neighborhood. It did have a dark side which I may articulate, someday.
I watched the elections in both those years with great interest. I was 10 yo in '52 so that shows you how messed up I was! During the '52 election my teacher took us to a TV(some of us didn't have them) and let us watch the convention for the whole day, that was a great school day for me and I couldn't understand why some kids didn't like it! Back then teachers taught the constitution and how government is supposed to work.
:-) Thanks for those stories, isrul!