Like Ike
By Mitch Berg
It was 1952. In the lifetimes of the Americans who were of prime voting, earning and thinking ages, the 25-50 year olds who make up the Great American Middle, there’d been a great Depression, one (or for the older ones, two ) world wars plus a nasty “police action” in Korea, and more turmoil in general than people today can comrehend.
And as popular as Franklin D. Roosevelt had been, and as tightly as his administration’s policies had wound themselves into the lives of everyday Americans, the thought of extending his legacy to six terms was too much for many Americans.
And so when the Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson, the GOP responded with Dwight Eisenhower – war hero and, by today’s standards, a moderate. And whatever you can say about the next eight years (baby boomers made a great show of rebelling against the era’s staid placidity; their parents, who’d come home from World War II having had a lifetime’s worth of excitement by age 25, didn’t have a problem with placid), it was a great time for America.
So could the GOP do it again with General Petraeus?
Americans have never been so disgusted with their politicians. More than three-quarters of Americans disapprove of Congress. President Barack Obama’s favourability ratings have slumped to below 50 per cent and he is no longer trusted or believed by many who voted for him…Many voters yearn for an outsider, someone with authenticity, integrity and proven accomplishment. Someone who has not spent their life plotting how to ascend the greasy pole, adjusting every utterance for maximum political advantage.
Say what you will about Barack Obama, but he, like Bill and Hillary Clinton, is the consummate professional politician; it’s hard to see what he’s done in his entire life that hasn’t played into preparing for a career in politics.
In this toxic climate, perhaps the only public institution that has increased in prestige in recent years is the American military. Its officers are looked upon, as General George Patton once noted, as “the modern representatives of the demi-gods and heroes of antiquity”.
Or at least people of integrity who’ve had to prove their worth with more than just school rankings and voting records.
Where better to look for Obama’s successor, therefore, than in the uniformed ranks? Not since 1952, when a certain Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War, was elected President, have the chances of a military man winning the White House been more propitious.
Within those ranks, no one stands out like General David Petraeus, head of United States Central Command, leader of 230,000 troops and commander of United States forces in two wars. Having masterminded the Iraq surge, the stunning military gambit that seized victory from the jaws of defeat, he is now directing an equally daunting undertaking in Afghanistan.
The story doesn’t end there, of course – it barely begins there. Nobody knows if Petraeus is interested in running, or much of what he’d stand for, policy-wise. Which was, of course, Ike’s story as well.
Still, the possibilities are intrigueing.
April 5th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
I’m not sure he would ever run for the job, he’s said repeatedly that he won’t. If he could be persuaded it would be interesting to hear his views/stance on any number of topics.
April 5th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Unlike Great Leader, Petraeus has actually managed a large organization. I don’t know much about the man, but we could not do worse than what we have right now.
April 5th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Kermit
“but we could not do worse than what we have right now.”
I don’t know Biden, Hillary and Pelosi are all in the line of succession.
April 5th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
What Kel said.
April 5th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
If he runs, then anytime a liberal criticizes him, can we say “How dare you question the patriotism of a war hero”.
He would have to have a good staff and good advisors, but I am ready for a non-politician.
April 5th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
kel, you left out Byrd.
April 5th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
You don’t get to be as high-up as he without having great political skills. But I’m guessing his first instinct would be far less likely to be “suck up to Third World Tinpot Dictators” and more “Put America’s Interests Ahead of Everybody Elses.”
I could live with that.
.
April 5th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Wel we did dodge the Algore bullet, er, ICBM.
April 5th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Dunno. Army, as “society”, is authoritarian and socialist in nature. I would like to know where Petraeus’ stands on personal freedom, consitutional and fiscal issues before throwing my lot in that direction.
April 5th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
OK, what word triggered moderation? I’m just wondering.
April 5th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
JPA,
That’s easy; the word “socialist” shares six letters with the name of a popular erectile dysfunction drug that is a highly common subject for spam.
I might suggest switching to “statist” or “communist”, if getting through in a hurry is important to you!
April 5th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Back in the days of “Strip Mining for Whimsy,” it was jokingly decided to simply refer to it as “So-boner-pill-ism.”
April 5th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Strip Mining for Whimsy. Good lord, that brings back memories. The only person I ever “met” who was more obtuse than Rick, more wannabe-menacing than Gisleson, more self-glorifyingly in love with the sound of his own prattle than Doug.
April 5th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Petraeus certainly has the resume to run for office, even the presidency. But Nate is right that generals do learn political skills to get that high up. And let’s remember that the last quasi draft-a-general attempt by the GOP didn’t work out so well with Colin Powell.
But then again, I am a bit biased here-anyone who replaces Petraeus is unlikely to do as good a job as him, and really good generals are hard to come by.
April 5th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
JPA and Dave,
I agree; due diligence is required.
April 5th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Ah Doug. Angry Doug we used to call him. He has vanished. I heard about the sweat lodge deaths, and some of us have wondered if he has gone to the Happy Hunting Ground.
April 5th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
“more self-glorifyingly in love with the sound of his own prattle than Doug.”
Says the radio guy who, unlike me, still maintains a blog.
Projection. Look it up.
April 5th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
An Adlai Stevenson reference! The Thinking man’s candidate!
And coincidentally on a day when Stevenson was mocked by Derbshire at NRO:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDRkNWM2YjZlMzI5OTUwOWIxYzkxOWQ3NWFmMWY5ZjE=
April 5th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
LOL!
I knew Mitch’s comment would bring Josh out from the shadows.
April 5th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Wow, JN. Either that was the fastest turnaround on a vanity-Google in history, or you still care!
Says the radio guy who, unlike me, still maintains a blog.
Yeah. I still have fun with both. So sue me that writing doesn’t feel like shitting a pine cone for me.
Projection. Look it up.
“You know I am, but what about you?”, in other words.
You haven’t lost a turn. Don’t change a thing,.
April 5th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Weird coincidence, actually — I Google the title every few months to make sure nobody else tries to use it. Just happened to run a search today and here we are. Though you know who’s totally insane about that is Odin. I swear that guy must have his own aggregator. Every time I’ve even mentioned him in passing somewhere, he’s stopped in to comment within twenty-four hours.
Otherwise no, sorry, don’t care, haven’t read your blog in months if not years.
Mostly because of stuff like that: every time someone gives you static you paraphrase it as something else, deride the thing they didn’t say — which is easy, since you made it up — then you do a little victory dance. It’s incredibly boring to watch, and completely unrewarding to get caught up in.
Which is too bad, because this is one of the few (remotely sane) right-wing blogs that still has a comments engine, and there are days when I could really use a good debate. Believe me when I tell you, I wish you were up to the task.
The only blog from the old days that I still check regularly is Ryan’s.
April 6th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Poor old Adlai was the amiable dunce of his day and the free world loved Ike. I can’t see that kind of history repeating itself. I’m more concerned about taking Congress, one seat at a time.
April 6th, 2010 at 10:28 am
“So sue me that writing doesn’t feel like shitting a pine cone for me.”
Now there’s a line I’m definitely going to remember.
April 6th, 2010 at 10:54 am
The larger question remains: how does Mitch happen to know what it feels like to shit a pine cone?
The only blog from the old days that I still check regularly is Ryan’s.
It’s that kind of thing that makes me feel slightly guilty about not posting more often.