But let me just say this last word. Regardless of what happens, I am going to continue this fight. I am going to campaign up and down America until we drive the crooks and the Communists and those that defend them out of Washington, and remember folks, Eisenhower is a great man. Folks, he is a great man, and a vote for Eisenhower is a vote for what is good for America. (217-220)

If you watch the speech, you'll notice that Nixon is actually cut off towards the end. He ran over the 30 minutes that the network allotted him, and they switched to other programming in the middle of his endorsement of Eisenhower.

Did he think he was accepting an Oscar or something?

Nixon had mixed feelings about Eisenhower personally at this point because hadn't come to his defense about the secret fund allegations. Plus, he knew that Eisenhower had strongly hinted that Nixon should resign from the ticket at the end of the speech. Praising Ike was a savvy political move disguised as a righteous show of support for Eisenhower and anti-communism.