The Press: Farewell to Ike

As the old order passed in Washington, the U.S. press turned from New Frontier sentinel duty awhile to pay parting respects to Dwight Eisenhower.

In general, the nation's newspapers bade Ike a fond and sentimental farewell. "Dwight Eisenhower retires with the affection, respect and confidence of the nation and much of the world," said the Dallas Morning News. "No other man in universal history amassed so much influence or power at one time without taking the one more step: assumption of an imperial diadem or the trappings of dictatorship ... It behooves [President Kennedy] to remember, as we think he does, that neither the U.S. nor the rest of the world is through with Dwight Eisenhower." In Los Angeles, the Republican Times called him a "man of ripened wisdom. His adversities have nourished his good will and sharpened his perception. Surely the people are proud of this man and proud of themselves for electing him while he was available."

Remember the Bill! The Kansas City Star doubted that the retiring President deserved "accolades as one of the most brilliant or imaginative of Presidents," but did not question his charm: "Few men in the decades of the republic have so captured the hearts, the trust and the faith of the people." The New York Times's senior pundit, Arthur Krock, took a balanced look back across the Eisenhower years and nodded qualified approval: "Whatever the flaws and errors of his rec ord, however much he could have bettered the great contemporary benefits it bestowed, lasting benefits they were."

But along with the pats on the back came a fair share of slaps. Hearst Columnist George E. Sokolsky, an off-and-on Ike fan, credited him with preserving the peace but complained about the bill: "One might almost say that his was a peace at any price. It was during his eight years that Soviet Russia achieved victory after victory and the U.S. took insult after insult." Columnist Joseph Alsop, who regards optimism as a character flaw, faulted Eisenhower for his complacency: "President Eisenhower, it is plain, is one of those men who prefer to deal with difficult problems and dangerous situations by displaying massive unconcern, meanwhile hoping that time will remove the difficulties and denature the dangers."

Spare the Schmalz! Eisenhower's last presidential addresses—his State of the Union message and his televised farewell to the nation—drew a piebald response. The Denver Post, though unmoved by the State of the Union message ("moral, but it did not inspire"), was stirred by the valedictory speech to historical comparisons: "The parting messages of Dwight Eisenhower and George Washington had this in common—an essentially conservative tone, one of dignity and restraint."