I don't have any 'deep-dive' here, just that I've always been impressed by how prescient and progressive this leader seemed to be, considering...
this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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Define "great" one hypocritical quote surely doesn't make him great.
Well I mean he also called in the national guard to force the integration of schools. On the other hand, he also overthrew the democratically elected socialist leader of Guatemala at the behest of Chiquita
Gotta keep those bananas cheap and labor cheaper!
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist."
https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942244/ikes-warning-of-military-expansion-50-years-later
Sure would have been nice if he practiced what he preached.
Yeah hard to take him at his word when he was ramping up nuclear weapons and funneling money to France to fight Ho Chi Minh in French Indochina.
I'm sure I don't know, but he has a number of great, socially-progressive quotes to his name, as well as famously admitting (and pointing out) how the military-industrial complex works.
But go ahead and slam him over specifics-- that should be fun, right?
Well yes that is what you're supposed to judge people on. You don't judge them on little sayings they say as they go out the door but on the things they did while in office. Did Eisenhower stop the rise of the military industrial complex? Shit no. He engaged in it. He expanded it.
Am I not supposed to judge a Man based on his support of terrorism and assassinations? Am I not supposed to judge him based on his arming of fascist military groups? Is that what greatness is?
He'd be considered a socialist by today's GOP. It's hard to overstate how far right the party has become.
Hell, this quote is too far left for Democrats.
I mean he's arguably responsible for the current war the US finds themselves in, so I'd say his legacy is somewhat tainted.