|
Showing 1 - 10 of
10 matches in All Departments
We are in the midst of a Dwight Eisenhower revival. Today pundits
often look to Eisenhower as a model of how a president can govern
across party lines and protect American interests globally without
resorting too quickly to the use of force. Yet this mix of
nostalgia and frustration with the current polarized state of
American politics may mislead us. Eisenhower's presidency has much
to teach us today about how a president might avert crises and
showdowns at home or abroad. But he governed under conditions so
strikingly different from those a chief executive faces in the
early 21st century that we need to question how much of his style
could work in our own era. The chapters in this volume address the
lessons we can draw from the Eisenhower experience for presidential
leadership today. Although most of the authors find much to admire
in the Eisenhower record, they express varying opinions on how
applicable his approach would be for our own time. On one side,
they appreciate his limited faith in the power of his words to move
public opinion and his reluctance to turn to the use of force to
solve international problems. On the other side, it was plain that
Ike's exercise of "hidden-hand" leadership (in Fred Greenstein's
evocative term) would not be possible in the modern media
environment that makes Washington a giant fishbowl and instant
revelation an acceptable norm. Both Eisenhower admirers and
skeptics (and many of the authors are both) will find much in these
essays to reinforce their preconceptions-and much that is
unsettling. Eisenhower emerges as an effective but flawed leader.
He was in many ways the right man for his time, but limited because
he was also a man of his time.
We are in the midst of a Dwight Eisenhower revival. Today pundits
often look to Eisenhower as a model of how a president can govern
across party lines and protect American interests globally without
resorting too quickly to the use of force. Yet this mix of
nostalgia and frustration with the current polarized state of
American politics may mislead us. Eisenhower's presidency has much
to teach us today about how a president might avert crises and
showdowns at home or abroad. But he governed under conditions so
strikingly different from those a chief executive faces in the
early 21st century that we need to question how much of his style
could work in our own era. The chapters in this volume address the
lessons we might draw from the Eisenhower experience for
presidential leadership today. Although most of the authors find
much to admire in the Eisenhower record, they express varying
opinions on how applicable his approach would be for our own time.
On one side, they appreciate his limited faith in the power of his
words to move public opinion and his reluctance to turn to the use
of force to solve international problems. On the other side, it was
plain that Ike's exercise of "hidden-hand" leadership (in Fred
Greenstein's evocative term) would not be possible in the modern
media environment that makes Washington a giant fishbowl and
instant revelation an acceptable norm. Both Eisenhower admirers and
skeptics (and many of the authors are both) will find much in these
essays to reinforce their preconceptions - and much that is
unsettling. Eisenhower emerges as an effective but flawed leader.
He was in many ways the right man for his time, but limited because
he was also a man of his time.
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.