Sorry guys. I remember the Eisenhower years as some of the best for America. He ended the Korean war, built the interstate highway system and was scandal free. Just what we need today.
Ah, don't you remember Sherman Adams and his vicuna coat?
Pure peanuts as scandals go today. But not "scandal free".
And he slapped down McCarthy pretty badly.
Granted, I'm not thoroughly schooled about his involvement in these 2 areas, but what I've heard I don't like.
“He ended the Korean war, built the interstate highway system and was scandal free. Just what we need today.”
You forgot to mention “Operation Wetback” yes that was it’s name. Here’s just a little tidbit from wikipedia on this extremely successful operation:
“Some 750 agents targeted agricultural areas with a goal of 1,000 apprehensions per day. By the end of July, over 50,000 illegal aliens were caught in the two states. An estimated 488,000 illegal aliens are believed to have left voluntarily, for fear of being apprehended. By September, 80,000 had been taken into custody in Texas, and the INS estimated that 500,000 to 700,000 had left Texas of their own accord. To discourage illicit re-entry, buses and trains took many deportees deep within Mexican territory before releasing them.”
I would agree that another Eisenhower would be desirable but I don’t think Pratraeus is even close to Eisenhower’s league.
Between 1945 and 1953, there was a movement among Republicans to undo what Roosevelt had done. Eisenhower settled it by accepting the welfare state as a done deal, rather than fight to be rid of it. He was pro business within the confines of the New Deal's assault on capitalism, and he was strong on defense. Just like Nixon, Rockefeller, romney, Ford and all the other country club Republicans. In fact, in those days, they really were country clubbers.
There was no conservative movement or internet then. Bill Buckley was still pimplefaced. If we had the intellectual underpinning and the means of communication then that we do now, we would have been opposing Eisenhower. His closest equivalent now is probably Evan Bayh or Romney.