Why I like Ike (and Nixon)

[Platapus]

Why I like Ike (and Nixon)

Here is some declassified history that might be interesting.

The year was 1960. Dwight Eisenhower was the outgoing president. Richard Nixon was the Republican candidate and John Kennedy was the Democratic candidate.

The debates between Nixon and Kennedy were very close and heated. Nixon was considered an Ike mini-me, which was either a great advantage or a great disadvantage depending on your political position.

Kennedy decided that the best tactic to defeat Nixon was to attack the policies of Eisenhower. One of the political attacks against Nixon concerned what was called “The Missile Gap”.

Since the late 1950’s the Soviet Union successfully test launched several ICBMs, satellites, and space probes. The Soviets were winning the space race. There was a concern that the Soviets had more operational ICBMs than the United States did. Most of these concerns came from US Amy Intelligence reports. These Army reports always included recommendations for increased budgets for specific Army missile programs.

Ike was worried that these Army reports were self-serving as a few years before, the US Air Force reported a Soviet “Bomber Gap”. Naturally, the Air Force, based on their studies, wanted increased budgets for the Air Force. Ike was suspicious.

Imagine the DoD exaggerating a threat in order to garner increased military spending? Glad that sort of stuff doesn't happen these days.


Ike was distrustful of these reports, but had very little evidence to either support or challenge the military reports. The press took these “gap” stories and ran with them… so did Kennedy.

Kennedy made this missile gap a key weapon against the Republicans (Ike and Nixon). Kennedy accused Ike as being weak on defense by allowing these “gaps”.

What Kennedy did not know, but Ike did know was that in late 1960, the United States operated its first photo-reconnaissance satellite. CIA analysts at NPIC analyzed these photographs and were able to determine that the missile gap was greatly exaggerated.

Nixon, knowing that the election was close and being the target of Kennedy’s political attacks concerning the now disproved missile gap, asked Ike if this information could be used to challenge and discredit Kennedy.

Ike refused. This information and the system used was too sensitive to be used for political gain. Even though, it might cost the Republicans the election, this sensitive source must be protected. Nixon agreed.

So for the remainder of the presidential debates, Kennedy continued to hammer Nixon about the Missile Gap and the failure of the Republicans to properly address it. All this time, Nixon had, in his head, knowledge that the missile gap was exaggerated. But he never leaked this information and in fact made himself look bad by not having a good answer to this non-question.

Kennedy won the presidency by 112,754 votes. 49.7% to 49.6%. One of the closest presidential elections ever held.

We will never know if the outcome would have changed if Nixon was allowed to discredit Kennedy’s political attacks. But it might have made a difference.

Ike and Nixon knew this but decided to put country before party, even if this meant losing the presidency. Honour is not a word I use often when describing politicians. But in my opinion, Ike and Nixon showed real honour in the face of great, and ultimately realized, political risk.

Placing country before party is often bantered about as a political slogan. But here was an example of actually doing it. And accepting the consequences.

I wonder if any of today’s politicians would, if put in a similar position, would truly place country before party?

Somehow, I doubt it.

Ps. Dr. Charyk (first director of the NRO) said in a recent interview that shortly after Kennedy became president, Charyk was briefing Kennedy on the space reconnaissance programs and on the intelligence derived from these missions. When briefing on the Soviet Missile programs, Dr. Charyk said that Kennedy “gave a nervous laugh and said ‘well, I guess there was no missile gap after all’”.

[the_tyrant]

Well both of them ended up in the white house anyways

[TLAM Strike]

Yet Regan used the fear of overwhelming Soviet numerical superiority to build up the US military and run the Soviets in to bankruptcy.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Yet Regan used the fear of overwhelming Soviet numerical superiority to build up the US military and run the Soviets in to bankruptcy.

And, in the end, us as well. Reagan set the trend of budget-busting deficits. It is, unfortunately, a model that every president thereafter has followed, and one that is heavily romanticized.

Personally, I like Ike too. He was one of the last real conservatives; a guy that knew what was important and what was dangerous.

[Stealhead]

That is true but pretty much every president was either wrong about something they had run on or did not do some thing or other that they promised.


How do you know that Nixon knew this information though do you have a source?I know Ike knew I also know that Ike did not like Nixon all that much so even
if Nixon wanted to mention the facts he would have had no back up as Ike would not have confirmed his story not to mention the fact that this was highly classified
information so Nixon really had no choice and even if he wanted to mention the truth on the gap how would he go about it on one hand he needs to firmly anti-Soviet
it would have made him look weak to say "We have nothing to fear from Soviet missiles" more so when he can not explain why he knows this.I am pretty sure that if Nixon did
mention what he knew Ike would not have backed him on it and then Nixon would have looked foolish so Nixon had no recourse on the topic.


Ike did what you say but Nixon he had no choice in the matter.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

How do you know that Nixon knew this information though do you have a source?I know Ike knew.

Nixon was Ike's VP.

[em2nought]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Why I like Ike (and Nixon)
I wonder if any of today’s politicians would, if put in a similar position, would truly place country before party?

Somehow, I doubt it.

I think Ron Paul does, that's why he can't win. There is no big group of leeches waiting to cash in on a Ron Paul presidency.

[Stealhead]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Nixon was Ike's VP.

I know that sorry I was not thinking on that part.But it is well known that Ike did not like Nixon very much and that would have been the reason that he refused Nixon's request also simply for obvious national security reasons which makes me doubt that Nixon would have out thought to ever mentioning the information that he had about the Soviets in a debate with Kennedy.I am sure he really got pretty pissed every time it came up.

In the end Nixon got elected twice and he did get the POWs out of North Vietnam so I am glad that he got in when he did and not in 1960.He was in at the right time and he had the bad luck of getting caught doing things that every other president before and since does to some extent.

Good post, I think that Ike is rather under-rated in the pantheon of American presidents.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

In the end Nixon got elected twice and he did get the POWs out of North Vietnam so I am glad that he got in when he did and not in 1960.He was in at the right time and he had the bad luck of getting caught doing things that every other president before and since does to some extent.

^QFT

[Tchocky]

We cannot allow a mineshaft gap!

[Stealhead]

You beat me to it!! I was going to post that.That was a very good movie poked fun at every camp.

No Russian is going get my purity of essence in my mine shaft.

[soopaman2]

Enjoy the fairy tales of times past.

No president will ever be as full of integrity as Ike.

We should go back to his tax rates...

What deficit?

Oh no, can't crush the (offshoring) "job creators" who work so hard (for a few select shareholders) to bring America to greatness (by bailing out failing enterprises) because they would cripple our economy (they give us politicians alot of money).


Not in todays bought out and fascist government.

[Tchocky]

Originally Posted by Stealhead

You beat me to it!! I was going to post that.That was a very good movie poked fun at every camp.

No Russian is going get my purity of essence in my mine shaft.

I feel bad for throwing it into a fairly interesting thread

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by soopaman2

No president will ever be as full of integrity as Ike.

Arguably no modern president, but Ike doesn't hold a candle to George Washington. The only man who provably didn't want the job, and only took it because it was necessary.