Dez Prez Rankings: Laidback

#8 of 39:
Dwight Eisenhower (34th president)
1953-61
Republican


For a long time, Dwight Eisenhower’s term had the reputation amongst historians as being as bland as the 1950’s supposedly were. No strikes, no fouls, no runs. But as historians have taken a closer look, his reputation has improved. I agree with them. It is easy to praise bold moves, but sometimes sitting back instead of bold actions is the best move. This is especially true in the Cold War years when the stakes were incredibly high, and such restraint was all the more surprising from one of our military heroes.

The fact that Ike was such a respected war hero and military insider allowed him to counter the machinations of a ravenous Pentagon war machine. He understood the tricks and inner workings of the Pentagon, and prevented the “military-industrial complex” from growing even more than it did (so much so that in 1960, John Kennedy incredibly accused the Republicans under Ike of allowing a “missile gap” with the Soviets and being “soft” on communism). And the Pentagon powers could not really push Ike around, either. He knew them, and he won freakin’ D-Day.


ABOVE: I like Ike

Far from being jingoistic, Eisenhower mostly worked to cool international tensions. He was instrumental in ending the Suez Crisis of 1956, he wrapped up the Korean War, and in 1953 Ike gave his Atoms For Peace Speech in which he proposed that all atomic materials be managed by an international organization. Historian Stephen Ambrose called Ike’s proposal “the most generous and the most serious offer on controlling the arms race ever made by an American president.” Eisenhower’s term featured what was actually an easing of the Cold War tensions when compared what came before and after his administration (other than the U2 spy plane incident). His one real foreign policy misstep was getting us involved in a very minor way in Vietnam. I don’t think that Eisenhower can be blamed for what JFK, LBJ and Nixon did with the war after him, but he did start the ball rolling.


ABOVE: The Soviets accused us of flying over their territory with spy planes. Ike denied that we were doing it. Then they shot one of our U2 spy planes down and captured the pilot. Ike then had to admit, "well, OK, maybe we were spying on you." (I'm paraphrasing). This incident is probably most significant to the modern world in that it provided U2 with their band name (BELOW).



Domestically speaking, Eisenhower was also successful. He did not interfere with the prosperity of the 1950’s, he signed three balanced budgets, and he started the Interstate Highway system. Although Ike did not want to rock the boat on Civil Rights, after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case desegregating schools, when Arkansas governor Faubus called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black students from attending Little Rock Central High School, Eisenhower called out federal troops to enforce the Court’s order.


ABOVE: Excerpts from Eisenhower’s famous Farewell Address where he warns Americans of the Military-Industrial Complex. A pretty farsighted speech, the dude knew what he was talking about. I couldn’t find a clip without the dramatic music.

Pros:
• Peace in the Suez Crisis
• Controlled the Pentagon’s huge military build-up plans
• Little Rock
• Balanced budget
• Atoms for Peace attempt
• End Korean War
• 50’s prosperity (except for recession at the end of the decade)
• Overall easing of Cold War tensions

Cons:
• Vietnam
• U2 spy plane incident