Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage

 

Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage by Jeffrey Frank

The presidential ticket of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon is probably the most memorable one in terms of identification of the two individuals.  Eisenhower was famous as the Supreme Commander in Europe during WWII whereas Nixon, sadly, achieved his notoriety several years later due to Watergate.  As history goes on, many Presidents and Vice-Presidents simply become forgotten. Quick Trivia Question: Who was President’s Gerald Ford’s VP in 1976?  Most of you don’t know, do you?

What author Jeffrey Frank shares with us in this book is that these two individuals were radically different, didn’t seem to understand each other yet alone get along, but actually needed each other in order to win the presidency of 1952. Ike (Eisenhower) never seemed to care if he received the nomination or not. In fact, before 1952 no one even knew if he was a Democrat or a Republican (Current President Harry Truman tried to talk him into running as a Democrat).  So aggressively campaigning was never high on his priority list. He knew, however, that someone had to get out there and woo the masses, so young up-and-comer Dick (Richard) Nixon is recruited as his running mate.  Oh boy was Nixon aggressive.  He could actually be quite nasty as his campaigning record showed.  This, in my humble opinion, is why so many hated him throughout his career and ultimately caused his downfall.

Anyway, the problems start between the two before they even win the election.  I won’t go into all the squabbles in detail, but Nixon had to claw his way onto staying on the ticket when false accusations led him to his famous “Checkers” speech.  We then read later about Ike wanting to drop Dick off the ticket for the re-election of 1956.  Why?  Was he dissatisfied in Nixon’s performance? Well, no, it’s just that Ike really doesn’t understand, nor does he care, how politics works.  This is a world-renowned general who was used to constantly shuffling soldiers around so he always had the best military leaders where they were needed. That’s how you win wars. So shouldn’t he do the same when running a country?  Yes, but again, that’s not how politics works.  Then, when Dick runs for the highest office in 1960, Ike is asked for a significant decision Dick made during his 8-year tenure as VP. Ike’s answer? “Give me about a week and I can probably think of one.” Ouch.

This book seemed to focus a lot more on Dick than Ike. This really shouldn’t be surprising since Ike’s career during his presidency is peaking whereas Dick’s is just gaining momentum. Quite often we read about how frustrated Nixon is when his boss simply doesn’t know how to play the game. Ike doesn’t realize that when you make your VP look less than favorable, you make yourself look unfavorable as well.  But I guess 5-star generals don’t really give a rip.

It should be noted that this is not an exhaustive recollection of the presidency from 1952-1960.  Yes, there are plenty of highlights included, but the author smartly ensures that whatever he writes can somehow be tied to the uncomfortable relationship between the two.  There’s virtually nothing here, for example, about the downed U2 spy plane, nor the planning of Bay of Pigs.  I would almost recommend that one reads a bio of both of these men before tackling this one as it can more easily paint the entire picture of the whole 8 years. (Author Stephen Ambrose, ironically, penned a bio of both. His bio on Ike was 2 volumes; the one on Dick was 3 volumes. I would highly recommend both.)

Once we get past Nixon’s failed 1960 bid, the book tends to not be as captivating. I don’t blame this on the author, it’s just that the following decade wasn’t really that interesting in terms of the relationship between the two. Every time we read about Ike during the 60s, it’s seems like all ever does is play golf or is in the hospital due to various ailments (the man had an unprecedented seven heart attacks among other maladies).  We read about Dick’s climb to eventually become president in 1968, but the information of this whole decade is rather sparse. Give the author credit, however, for not getting sucked into the weeds and only focusing on Nixon and his many nuances.  Since Ike dies shortly after Dick becomes president, our story basically stops.  The author includes one coda-like chapter where we read about Nixon’s downfall and eventual resignation. This is probably necessary, yet it does leave one with a passion for more; which is why reading bios of the two might help with perspective.

This was a very enjoyable book. I can’t help but think about how nice it would be if we had more Ikes in the job as president (i.e. someone who can do the job but doesn’t care about politics) as opposed to less….um….Dicks.