Word: ike
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...throughout an Administration that academic intellectuals (mainly Democrats) disdained. The caricature was the amiable old soldier out on the golf course. So John Kennedy said, "Let's get America moving again," and won (barely) against Richard Nixon the man and the "passive" record of the Eisenhower Administration. Today Ike's presidency is more highly regarded, mainly because of subsequent history. Liberals can now see virtue in an eight-year presidency in which nothing really bad took place or was laid down as a time bomb for the future...
There were two very important things that didn't happen during Ike's years in the White House. The U.S. didn't get into any war, anywhere. And inflation was barely a topic of conversation. It averaged 1.4% a year from...
Some of the new Eisenhower literature goes much beyond a claim that he did nothing harmful. In Eisenhower the President, William Ewald Jr., one of his speech writers, contends that Ike was a masterly administrator and a subtle protector of presidential authority and options, with a sure instinct for when finally to commit. He also argues that the legislative record was at least as constructive as that of various "activist" Administrations of the recent past. All in all, says Ewald, "eight good years-I believe the best in memory...
Harlow talks knowingly about the dynamics of crises. External threats, like Nikita Khrushchev's bullying of Ike after the Soviets shot down a U-2 spy plane in 1960, rally the nation and the Government round a President. In a major domestic crisis, like the Depression of the 1930s, Congress tends to quit and turn to the President to save the country, says Harlow. But in a moderate-size domestic crisis, such as the one we have now, Congress will, if allowed, obstruct and usurp the President...
Except for Grant, Ike was the only Republican President to hold office for two full terms, but these diaries will not be of much comfort to ideological and defense-minded Republicans. His harshest words as President were reserved for right-wing ideologues, and he fought back all attempts to repeal the New Deal. "Human progress," he wrote, "is possible only as extremes are avoided and solutions to problems are found in a great middle way." He also warned against giving too much to the military: "Excessive expenditures for nonproductive items could, in the long run, destroy the American economy...