One of the favorite rhetorical devices that candidates running for the
presidency like to use is to compare themselves to some former
president, usually of the same party, in hopes that whatever favorable
image Americans have of that past president will rub off on them. For
the Democrats it's normally FDR and JFK. For the Republicans it's
Lincoln and Reagan. It dawned on me that there is a former Republican
president who almost no candidate uses as an exemplar of how he would
be as president and that is Dwight David Eisenhower.

One
would think that any Republican candidate worthy of the name would rush
to embrace Eisenhower's biography and accomplishments. Here we have a
General of the Army (the rank of 5 stars awarded only in war time) who
coordinated the combined efforts of the U.S. and her allies in
defeating the Germans in WWII. He then went on to become the
thirty-fourth president of the United States. During his two terms in
office, he brought America back to a peace time status and oversaw one
of the largest economic booms in U.S. history while at the same time
maintaining a fragile peace in the world in spite of the constant
threat of Soviet expansion.

In addition, he managed to help
enact the federal bill which brought about the creation of the
interstate highway system in America. He vigorously supported and
executed the decision of the Supreme Court in 1954 in Brown v Board of
Education of Topeka which effectively began the dismantling of the
policy of segregation in education. And he established the eponymous
Eisenhower Doctrine which defined the role of the U.S in protecting its
interests in the Middle East. The consequences of which we see writ
large in today's world.

With all that under his belt, why isn't
he lionized by Republican presidential candidates? To use a sports
analogy, Eisenhower dropped the ball at the one yard line. In the last
speech of his presidency on January 17, 1961, he took the opportunity
to worn the country of a threat from within to its economic and
national security. He saw this threat the result of what he termed the
"military-industrial complex" His exact words were: "We must guard
against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or
unsought, by the military-industrial complex...
Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing
of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our
peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper
together." And with those words, Eisenhower committed the unpardonable
sin. He told the truth.

Unfortunately, Eisenhower's words were
too little and too late. That "complex" by 1961 was firmly established
and embedded in America. The huge machine of war time production of
materiel and services which was created during World War II not only
established America's preeminence in the field but also made many men
very very rich. And these men were determined not to let the end of the
war and the hopes for peace stand in their way. Think of it as the
world's largest corporation something like War, Inc. And the Republican
party quickly became its wholly-owned subsidiary. Which is why
Eisenhower is shunned.

Which brings us now to Senator John
McCain, the very embodiment of the modern "military-industrial
complex". Bolstered and underwritten by a highly efficient and
well-organized political machine which draws most of its financial
support from that complex, McCain has made war and the threats of war
the centerpiece of his campaign. Why when all the polls say that
Americans are sick of the war in Iraq and want us out? How can that
plan possibly succeed?

Because the use of fear still works along
with the terrorism card. If you doubt it, just look at the polls. Ever
since the little set-to between Russia and Georgia, McCain has seen his
numbers rise while Obama's have dropped. It's a rather brilliant
strategy actually. The complex has made all that it can out of Iraq so
they need to find a new market for their goods and services. And the
Russians handed it to them on a silver platter. And just to make sure
that the heightened level of tension between the U.S. and Russia
doesn't diminish, we have Condi Rice arming Poland with our missiles.

It's
tailor-made for the old war hero, John McCain, to come charging in on
his white horse to save the day. After all, we can't rely upon someone
so untested and inexperienced as Barack Obama to protect us. The
Democrats have become the modern embodiment of the "myth of Sisyphus".
Every four years, we push that same boulder up the mountain only to
have it roll back down just before we reach the top. And if, as I fear,
that when I turn on the TV on Wednesday morning, November 5 only to see
John McCain's face grinning back at me, I will be out of the boulder
pushing biz for good.