I Like Ike

(via DailyKos)

Actually, not really. Eisenhower was pretty ineffective in preventing the rise of McCarthyism, and helped Richard Nixon get a foothold in national politics. But I do think that Eisenhower was a decent man who gave serious thought to the direction the country was heading. Everyone remembers his farewell address, warning about the military-industrial complex:

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications.

But David Sirota has also pointed out a prophetic warning to the Republicans about social security (and about Texan oil men):

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are [a] few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 11/8/54