President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower was, up until recently, regarded as a sort of proto-Reagan, a conservative leader who spent a lot of time during a prosperous decade golfing and keeping things running smoothly. But with the rise of the neocons, and their subsequent tumble after invading Iraq, Ike is being held up as an example of how far off American conservatism has drifted away from its core values and into lunacy.
The Christian Science Monitor pleads the case.
And to raise your respect for Eisenhower further, check out
"Why We Fight," a documentary that uses
Ike's farewell address about the military-industrial complex to examine the American war machine.