Why is it that this president reminds me so much of WWII's General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander of US Forces and the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces.
Eisenhower was a very unusual man, not a battlefield commander but still chosen to lead the American forces by his mentor and superior, George Marshall, in the greatest war of all time, the War to decide the future of mankind.
After the successful culmination of the War, Eisenhower presided as the president of Columbia University for a time, a job for which he felt amazingly ill-suited. Not an intellectual by nature or a fund raiser, Eisenhower was compelled to wear many hats as Columbia's president. Eventually, the party focused on him to become its candidate for president.
To me, both men were good men, who found their cores early and who set a rigorous path for themselves, Eisenhower, in the military, and Obama in Law and education.
But both were also reserved and careful about how they doled out their accolades. Eisenhower, as a general, chose his generals for their acumen; Obama, perhaps for their credentials and their loyalties. Each had their own yardsticks for performance. Eisenhower was task oriented but could also be tougher on those he appointed; Obama, on the other hand, doesn't seem to like the nitty-gritty of managment and tries to pick the top people by specialization and then tends to leave them to their own devices. In this, both men differ.
and this is where the comparisons begin.
Eisenhower was the most well=intentioned, perhaps, of all presidents, he was skilled in his specialty, finding common ground with his other generals, and delivering a good speech on the occasions where they were warranted. Other than that, he turned out to be a rather indifferent president, someone who preferred to keep a low profile rather than get into the trenches, someone considered to be possessed of little vision as to where to take the country and no stomach for fighting off McCarthy or putting Nixon into his place when he overstepped.
Eisenhower, as president, was a man who took pleasure in small things and perhaps he was happiest away from his desk and on the golf course; afterall, he had never wanted a desk career. Yet, when he had to, he came forward with the words that touched men's souls and while not the best crafter of words, he earned the respect and gratitude of the American people for protecting America's values in the War.
His leadership ability oftentimes gave him more traction than he might have gained otherwise.
Having come into office with great promise and the hopes of his many ardent admirers, Eisenhower accomplished surprising little for his time in office and is perhaps best known for the Interstate Highway System which in its original iteration was the implementation of a design for providing a means for transporting military and equipment via high-way across the continent, in a way, reminiscent of what President Obama is advocating for in the way of streamlined transportation today.
Eisenhower and Obama also seem to share something else; almost a studied indifference to the day to day task of of keeping the country moving in the right direction,some might say, it was akin to almost a form of indifference to the demands of office.
Eisenhower gave little thought, it seemed, to policy leaving that mostly to others.
If Obama is a policy wonk, it is not totally clear.
Neither did Eisenhower use the bully pulpit to advantage to build support among the voters although that is rather mystifying because he has the talent to do so; only, unlike FDR, Obama seems more like the college professor talking to his class.
Of course, I realize that these judgments come after only two years in office in comparison to Eisenhower's successful terms in office; nontheless, the comparisons seem eerily acute at this early stage. We shall see how things shape out; but for now that's my assessment based upon my observations of both presidents....
