Hard Line: The Republican Party and U.S. Foreign Policy since World War II

Chapter Three: Dwight EisenhowerTh e Conservative as Balancer

Chapter Three Dwight Eisenhower The Conservative as Balancer Dwight Eisenhower was one of the most impressive and successful foreign policy presidents of the twentieth century. He ran for the Republican nomination in  as a special favorite of GOP moderates and internationalists, but soon gathered broad national support as a figure of exceptional appeal. Eisenhower’s overarching foreign policy goal was to contain communism and preserve America’s world role without bankrupting the United States. In an era of repeated international crises, he provided strong, calm leadership and protected American interests while keeping the United States out of violent conflicts. He won over the bulk of Republicans, as probably no one else could have, to a posture of cold war internationalism. He struck balances with unusual aplomb between domestic and international priorities, American nationalism and diplomatic sensitivity, cold war activism and a deep desire for peace. Yet on domestic issues, and even on foreign policy, Eisenhower’s brand of “modern Republicanism” had limited appeal to the GOP’s conservative base, and fundamentally the party’s organization and strength changed little during his time in office. His political successes were based on personal qualities that were virtually unique and did not translate into enduring partisan realignments or outlast his individual prestige. c While president, Eisenhower was viewed by contemporary critics as disturbingly passive and inarticulate—a likable grandfatherly figure, to be sure, but one who would rather play golf than run the government. In  C H A P T E R T H R E E reality, as we today know from abundant archival evidence, Eisenhower was behind the scenes a commanding, highly intelligent, purposeful, and diligent chief executive, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. Raised in a pietistic, small-town environment in Kansas, Eisenhower was inculcated early on with self-discipline and hard work. As a young man he was athletic, gregarious, and popular, and out of an interest in national service he quickly decided on a military career. After attending West Point he served during the s in an obscure post in Panama where he nevertheless used his time well to study Clausewitz and ponder the appropriate relationship between politics and armed force. Singled out for a series of distinguished staff assignments in the interwar years, he was noted by his superiors to be an unusually promising and capable officer. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Army Chief of Staff George Marshall made Eisenhower head of the Army War Plans Division, and at that point his meteoric rise began. Eisenhower was soon made commander of U.S. forces in Europe, then in  commander of Allied forces in Europe, giving him responsibility over the invasion and liberation of France. In this role he demonstrated great effectiveness and good will in reconciling and winning over both counterparts and subordinates from a wide array of countries, departments, and services. For the American public, the smiling, unpretentious “Ike” had the added quality of embodying managerial and military competence without in the least bit threatening democratic values. By the end of World War II he was a figure of genuinely worldwide popularity and renown. He returned to the United States to become chief of staff for the army, then president of Columbia University, and finally military commander of NATO. In –, Republican moderates and internationalists such as Governor Thomas Dewey of New York and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts organized a movement to draft Eisenhower for president . Concerned by what he perceived as the Truman administration’s drift toward fiscal irresponsibility, on the one hand, and the Republican drift toward neo-isolationism on the other, Eisenhower accepted the call, and after a hard-fought convention battle against conservative nationalist Robert Taft (R-OH), won the Republican nomination. Senator Richard Nixon (R-CA) was chosen as the GOP vice-presidential running mate because of his impeccable anti-Communist credentials, his D W I G H T E I S E N H O W E R  youth, his obvious political talents, his West Coast base, and his acceptability to every wing of the Republican Party.1 While Eisenhower’s postconvention presidential campaign began in a lackluster fashion, he soon shifted to a more aggressive approach in reaching out to the GOP’s Old Guard and adopting many of its longstanding criticisms of Truman. This had the intended effect of energizing Republicans and uniting the party. The strongest critique centered on the Korean...