Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower's legacy as a popular two-term president was neither dynamic nor exciting. It was his presidential demeanor of calm, cheerful self-assurance that he carried with him always. From his days as Supreme Allied Commander, holding the fractious elements of the Allied team together, Ike was a true believer in the importance of the deportment of leaders. He wrote, "(As Supreme Allied Commander) I firmly determined that my mannerisms and speech in public would always reflect cheerful certainty. Without optimism, victory is scarcely obtainable."

Throughout his eight years as President, Ike held fast to that belief. The 1950's were a period of peace, prosperity, and relative tranquility in the United States, and "I like Ike" was the battle cry of the status quo and two landslide electoral victories. There were times, however, when it seemed that Ike's positive demeanor was the only thing he had to offer during domestic civil rights crises or Cold War confrontations with the USSR, such as the downing of the American U-2 spy plane over Soviet territory.

In addition to his calm cheerfulness, Ike promoted moderation in an economic policy that promoted a stable economy and a balanced federal budget. During his terms of office, every economic indicator capital investment, personal savings and income, our gross national product grew substantially. Ike also resisted the temptation to fuel the economy further with additional tax cuts.

In foreign policy, Ike took advantage of his previous experience, foreign contacts, and friendships he made during World War II. Once again, his confident, commanding, yet subdued presence among world leaders resulted in a seven-year period of peace for his country. He emerged successfully and unscathed from several international crisis, and liked to boast that he never lost a soldier or a foot of ground in several confrontations with the USSR and Communist China.

President Eisenhower's final legacy was his warning to the American people to be watchful over the so-called "military and industrial complex." In his January 1961 farewell address to the American people, Ike, the military legend, after battling Congress and forces within his own administration over relentless demands for increase in defense spending, preached about how "every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

The man with the calm demeanor, dignified presence, and dazzling smile, who led Allied armies to victory in Europe, and who gained the adulation of a prosperous and contented people, was, in the end, not so much an exciting kinetic leader. He was the steward and caretaker of his nation during a time of peace and prosperity. His legacy is his enduring popularity as a nostalgic and father figure of the 1950's.

Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
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