Is Ike Making a Comeback?

By Chris

Presidential campaigns are always chock full of references to previous Chief Executives, especially those who were successful.  From Democratic claims to the Kennedy legacy to Republican invocations of Ronald Reagan, we have become used to these kind of comparisons.  This year, however, there seems to be quite a bit more than usual talk about our Thirty-Fourth President, the “Man from Abilene” himself, Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower.

In addition to Indiana Jones’ professed admiration for Ike in the new Indy film, David Brooks today suggests that Ike might well make a good running mate for either of the prospective Presidential nominees.  Specifically, Brooks jokes:

My first thought on the running mate question is that to balance his ticket, Barack Obama should pick a really old white general. Therefore, he should pick Dwight Eisenhower. John McCain, on the other hand, needs to pick someone younger than himself. Therefore, he also should pick Dwight Eisenhower.

Only slightly more serious was a column in Slate last week that examined the difficulty that candidates with funny names have traditionally encountered in ascending to the Presidency.  The exception proving the rule in their minds was our only four-syllable President, Eisenhower.  Their explanation for this boiled down to two simple points:

1. Everybody called him “Ike.”

2. When you win a world war, you can have any damn name you want.

Indeed.

Most interesting to me, however, in considering the Ike resurgence is how much this election is, in many ways, beginning to resemble the one that brought Eisenhower to the White House in 1952.  From an incumbent President battling an unpopular war, to a well-recognized Republican war hero candidate going up against a gifted but inexperienced young orator from the State of Illinois, there are many lessons for today that can be gleaned from that historic race.

While 2008 and 1952 are not a perfect match, I suspect that focus on General Eisenhower will only continue as this campaign progresses.  Naturally, I hope the results for McCain also resemble Eisenhower’s.