The Religious Journey of Dwight D. Eisenhower: Duty, God, and Country by Jack M. Holl

Author:Jack M. Holl [Holl, Jack M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Presidents & Heads of State, Religious, Religion, Religion; Politics & State
ISBN: 9780802878731
Google: 3F8UzgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 56156113
Publisher: Eerdmans
Published: 2021-01-15T13:18:12+00:00

President in Waiting

The half decade between 1945 and 1950, and especially his brief tenure as president of Columbia University, served as an enriching sabbatical for Dwight Eisenhower. Concurrent with the growth of his religious sensibilities, Eisenhower became politically more confident and reflective. After the enormous sacrifices of blood and treasure in World War II, he was dismayed by the pell-mell demobilization of the United States following the Japanese surrender. Understandably, almost everyone pushed not only to bring the “boys” home but also to slash military spending and limit international commitments. Increasingly, he believed no one else had the necessary experience or temperament to lead postwar America.

With hindsight, Eisenhower’s presidency seems almost inevitable, like that of George Washington or U. S. Grant. With the possible exception of MacArthur, no hero of comparable stature to Eisenhower emerged from World War II. Talk of a presidency for Ike began as early as the North Africa campaign. During the war he consistently brushed aside any ambition of becoming president. At this juncture, he thought the presidential speculation was silly, but even to deny such ambition would make him appear to be ridiculous.

More importantly, political ambition on his part would constitute a fundamental betrayal of his duty. “For a soldier to turn from his war duty for any reason is to be guilty of treachery to his country and disloyalty to his superiors,” he wrote his brother Arthur. “The President is my Commander-in-Chief. Nothing could sway me from my purpose of carrying out faithfully his orders in whatever post he may assign me.” If Arthur did not get his point, Ike concluded with this: “I will not tolerate the use of my name in connection with any political activity of any kind.”

In the immediate postwar years, however, he was alternately adamant that he was uninterested in politics and coy about the possibility of running for president. Immediately after the war, both Democrats and Republicans courted Eisenhower to run on their party’s ticket. Nevertheless, he wrote to Swede Hazlett that he could conceive of no circumstance under which he would consider accepting a political position, from “Dog Catcher to ‘Grand High Supreme King of the Universe.’” But while he frequently said no, he never shouted, “Hell, no!” And to some, his biography Soldier of Democracy, published in 1945, looked very much like a campaign biography.

In truth, presidential talk flattered Ike, whose “little engine of ambition” was fueled by the enthusiasm of his admirers. Of course, he could not let personal ambition (selfishness) direct his life. But it might be a different matter if he were drafted to be president. The trouble was, this quintessential planner was not yet prepared to enter the hurly-burly of American politics. He had neither political staff nor regular political advisors. He had no well-defined constituency or organized support from political leaders. He had no campaign plans, no war chest or fund-raising apparatus. As a potential presidential candidate, he had neither a political base from which to run nor a platform on which to stand.

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