Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Dwight D. Eisenhower

Any thoughts on "Ike"?

He's dead.

"Like"

as my old campaign button says: "I like Ike"

It sure seemed like better day back in Ike's administration.

At least he had some credentials for high public office, and I understate.

I like Ike.

If only we had people in D.C. of his caliber today....

I like Ike too.

Hell I like Truman Capote better than the low life in the white house these days.

Supreme Allied Commander.
He had to make some very tough decisions.
And he made em'...!

If you had ever driven across country before the interstate system was built, you would like Ike a LOT!!

Like would be an understatement..

THIS ^^^^

One of our greatest generals - and he never served in combat.

A far better president than most who have followed him.

And he grew up on the wrong side of the tracks - literally.


If you are ever in Abilene, his home and memorial are worth a look.

Think we will ever see a candidate close to him?

Then, would the voters be smart enough to vote for the candidate even if he was bald?

Some of my earliest memories are hearing the "big kids" - the 6 and 7 year olds - sing a variation of the Eisenhower campaign jingle. Sung to the tune of "Whistle While You Work".

Whistle while you work,
Stevenson's a jerk,
Eisenhower has the power,
to-oo do the work!

My favorite Ike story is about how he got the Norks to capitulate.

Story is that the peace talks were not going so well. Ike had a low level puke at State talk to a low level French puke. The conversation was about The Bomb.

Our puke told the Frog that Ike would be willing to lend the Frogs an A-Bomb to resolve the French Indo-China issue. This was just a feelere, but. . . The French had been lobbying for support, and this was their response. The Frogs were severely compromised with Soviet spies, so this news was in Moscow probably before it was in Paris.

The Soviets called the Chinese. The Chinese called the Norks, and all of a sudden their was an accord signed.


Somebody told Ike on assuming the Presidency: figure out what conditions would cause you to drop The Bomb. When you are certain of your answer, tell no one.

This was how Ike used The Bomb.

The details of all this are in Ike's Bluff. I read it on the deer stand a couple of seasons ago. Good stuff.

One of his most long lasting accomplishments was our interstate highway system.

Funny how almost every state on that map was a different color for the last election. And just how many have been consistently a different color for a decade or so.

I was too young to pay any attention to politics back then but I will point out that Democrats were a different breed of people then. miles

I think both parties were different. Both sides had strong conservative and liberal wings. That changed, largely with Reagan, also I think that back then both sides wanted what they saw as best for the country. Now they just want what they want, and to stop or hurt the opposition. Can you tell that I am someone who despises one party and likes the other a just a little better. Working middle class people have no support from either side.

If you look at that map you will see the long lasting results of Reconstruction in the colors. miles

Eisenhower is one of our most underestimated presidents and he was also a much more intellectual and erudite man than he gets credit for.

Most people are very happy to pretend that he never made that speech.

I reckon I would have been 12 when he stopped and shook my hand, coming out of a Presbyterian Church in D.C.
We were staying at a hotel not far away, and out for a walk before Sunday brunch, no planning, just wandered into the deal
Folks (mine included) hung back, but kinda' scooted their kids into the front row, he stopped and did a little schmoozing on his way to the BIG Caddy.

I remember a very genuine smile, and direct piercing eyes, with a merry twinkle.

Wish we'd had a camera along, that day.

GTC

Are you refering to "Operation Vulture". The use of nukes here wasnt discussed withthe French until 10 days after Giap's initial assaults at Dien Bien Phu.
That was March of 54. Truce was signed in Korea in July of 53.

I would like to think Ike knew one end of a shovel from the other, that attribute might be lacking in our present day politicians.

Ike was the last of the great military presidents. Very well liked by all. Knew much about the military and very little about how the U.S. Government operates, but learned fast and was able to work with Congress and SCOTUS to get things done.had to deal with Korea and CHICOMs.Never had a budget over 100 billion. Worst legacy was Tricky Dick.

I was one of the last USAF airman to be issued an Ike jacket.

Good point Miles, reconstruction should be a good topic for another day.

Another bad legacy was Earl Warren.

He played as much golf as the usurper in our House right now. He also delegated a lot and never wanted to be president.

He was the first President to use heavy federal power to further minority agendas and keep them safe in a dangerous environment.

Ike would be called a "libtard" here at the campfire. He was a better Allied Commander than President, IMO.

In all things he still stands head and shoulders above many before him and after him. As a kid I briefly met him and Nixon in San Francisco during the Republican convention. My grandmother was an Illinois delegate.

No, I'm not referring to Operation Vulture. This was supposedly a back-channel gambit that went down in early '53.

Ok! Didn't know.

Thx!

Story told at his farm in Gettysburg: At semi-formal dinner they had at the farm the conservation turned to "Mr. President what did you do today"? His reply was "worked at the barn hauling manure". At that, a guest whispered to Mamie "Couldn't you get him to say fertilizer" her reply was " It took me thirty years to get him to say manure"

He gave us the warning about "The Military-Industrial Complex".

And we were in Vietnam shortly afterward.

Proven leader!
One error was making Patton US Commander of Bavaria, a diplomatic position. Patton was no diplomat and wanted to use the Nazis not denazify.
Ike finally took him down.

Yes we see what his warning was about every time there is a base closing or a weapon system gets canceled. It is funny when you realize just who is involved, the big companies obviously, all the little people who get the politicians involved to try to keep their jobs. Not really judging just stating how big it is.

No speech fell on deafer ears.

Some...
Just thinking that Colin Powell would not qualify to shine Gen. Ike's boots.

Paraphrasing as nearly as I can remember:

Some of you feel pride when you see one our bombers pass overhead. You ought to shed a tear. Every bomber that is made is a school that was not built. The future of this country is in schools, not in bombers. In the final sense, every weapon of war that is built represents a theft from people who are hungry and not fed.

More morons....

And one day you will not have schools because there are no bombers to keep them safe.

I always thought that that was Harry and Bess.

Things have damn sure changed since that era!! THAT....was back when you had to be registered as a friggin DEMOCRAT to cast a vote in Louisiana!!

George C. Marshall thought he was pretty sharp....made him SAC of all forces! MacArthur said...."Eisenhower was the best orderly I ever had!" Me thinks that bit of 'crow' was hard for MacArthur to swallow after all was said and done!!

Just possibly whomever came through with that comment needs to re-torque their thinking!! If it wasn't for bombs, bombers, rifles, and a whole helluva lot of dead GIs....whomever wouldn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of!!

Denton was paraphrasing an Eisenhower quote. Ike's words,not his.

Most couldn't pick a shovel out of a tool line up.

For the sound bite crowd, I suggest you sit down and take a read of the text of the speech. It hits on a great many useful topics and the much quoted line about the military industrial complex is more about big business in general, it's just that the military business was quite large then. He also give them credit for many advances that improve life.

Ike's speech

If I were to pick something out that is interesting to discuss that is current I'd suggest that this quote,

"Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific technological elite."

could be applied to the "global anthropomorphic climate change" that is driving so much of the political agenda.

As a whole, Eisenhower did a fine job as President, and was the right man at the right place and Time for ETO in world war two! It was major league work to keep the Allies together, sure there were some mistakes made along the way- Operation Market Garden comes to mind- problems of supply and transport, German subs were operational and a threat from Sept 1,1939 to May 6, 1945 when Adm Doenitz surrendered and ordered them to stand down! As for the Military Industrial Complex business, from his view point yes there was some validity to that- seeing how when I was a young 2nd Lt. The standing army of the day was pretty much and undermined under equipped constabulary, lucky for us that the both world wars afforded us the time to build up and get things going, it cost a lot and not just money! After the Second War the draw down was so low that when we got blindsided by Korea we had major problem for a time, some would say to this very day- only a cease fire , that war is not over! On a wider field Eisenhower was a master at disinformation, kept the Soviets in check and it time that real threat would disappear with out a shot fired pretty much considering the sort of things we and the soviets had at our disposal then! The Industrial Military complex as he put it was the right tool at the right time, there was no World War III, yea we got this Muslim Jihad thing that has been going on for the last 1400 years dealing with that is nothing compared to dealing with the likes of the Last World War! And our only problems with the current mess is the problems we make for ourselves - we are not as ruthless as Eisenhower really was!

Eisenhower, like Reagan later, had a wealth of experience.

We dearly need people like them, not pretty hairdos.

When I was a kid and Ike was in, that map was why everything was good, except for where it was red....i.e KKK, race problems. That red has spread to all the big cities and we now have different but similar problems today. We sure have dummied down since those days.

don't know about that... many a times I got my kicks on Route 66