Wisdom Learned From President Eisenhower

There is much that can be learned from the life of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A s the Sup reme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force that oversaw the D- Day invasion in 1944, and later as the 34th President of the United States from 1953-1961, he demonstrated great leadership qualities.

He also provided insightful observations based upon his experiences, his knowledge of history, and his gifted ability to make sense of the times in which he lived.

A recent book by Fox News anchor Bret Baier called “Three Days in January, Dwight Eisenhower’s Final Mission,” provides a good perspective of his life and zeroes in on the great lengths he went to ensure a good transition from his presidency to that of John F. Kennedy’s.

In the book, you can also see that Eisenhower, as he was leaving the office of president, did all he could to help make sure that not only would the new president be prepared, but that America would be ready for a potentially tumultuous future.

The book has much relevance to us today.

First, it demonstrated the attributes crucial to good leadership.

Eisenhower, often simply referred to as “Ike,” showed what Baier described as “a confident presence” in his dealings with others, a presence that worked to every- one’s advantage.

He also provided calm stability by making sure he was visible to those who were responsible for carrying out his directives. As Allied general in charge of the D- Day landings in France, he visited countless divisions, airfields, ships, and various military installations during the time leading up to the invasion.

He instructed his officers to do the same. Eisenhower wrote, “Soldiers like to see the men who are directing operations.” Those visits lifted morale of the troops and also gave the visiting officers a chance to see firsthand how the preparations were going.

History tells us that Eisenhower had a winsome personality that helped bring factions and groups together. It worked during World War II and it also worked in his presidency.

Many Americans know that President Harry S. Truman is known for a plaque on his desk that read, “The Buck Stops Here,” but not as many are aware that Eisenhower had a paperweight on his desk with a Latin inscription that meant, “Gentle in manner, strong in deed.”

It was a good description of how Eisenhower chose to lead.

Second, the book tells of how Eisenhower made astute observations concerning the public’s inclinations and the media’s influence.

He came to understand that political campaigns could have troubling trends. Those included how television could make a person look good or bad; how emotion instead of reason can drive voting patterns; and how politicians can cater to large interest groups.

These things bothered Ike. He wrote in his memoir that he didn’t like how “elections can be controlled by sentiment and emotion rather than by facts and experience.”

Baier wrote that Eisenhower also didn’t care for the media’s tendency to focus on personalities and gossip and that he believed the press was “too subjective, and too opinionated.” (Keep in mind this was in America in the late 1950s; Eisenhower would likely be appalled at the topics that dominate some of the public discourse today, along with how issues and non- issues alike are prioritized by the media).

Baier’s book also enables the reader to appreciate the difficulties that come in holding the office of president.

Eisenhower wrote, “The problems a president faces, are soul-racking.” He went on to write that every decision made must first go through a process in which every opinion, alternative, and prediction is intensely scrutinized.

And then the president alone will make a decision and own up to whatever happens next.

“No one,” Eisenhower wrote, “with the exception of his predecessors, knows what it is like.”

After President Kennedy ordered a mission in which CIA- trained Cuban exiles could attack their former country in April of 1961 (the Bay of Pigs invasion), and after the world watched the entire endeavor fail, Kennedy asked Eisenhower to join him at Camp David.

Kennedy said to Eisenhower, “No one knows how tough this job is until he’s been in it a few months.”

Eisenhower ge n t ly replied, “Mr. President, if you will forgive me, I think I mentioned that to you three months ago.”

Leadership, politics, and important decisions—they’re all there in Baier’s work. It is a worthwhile book because it gives us not just an account of what happened 50- 60 years ago, but also lessons that apply to the world today.