Ike's Mixed Legacy

One of the more unusual talking-points made by those on the lunatic fringe involves President Eisenhower. It is specifically stated by these folks that Eisenhower ultimately allowed (some even go as far as to infer senility here) his administration to be hijacked by a group of right-wingers (the Dulles brothers, most specifically). It was this element, they go on to say, that prompted Ike to interfere in the Vietnamese elections, topple the Democratically elected government in Iran, etc...........................................................................Wow. That's kind of an interesting theory, don't you think - especially as it pertains to the Iranian situation? Unfortunately (and, yes, as is almost always the case with these strident/absolutist type theories), it's also a theory that leaves out a lot of incongruities...........................................................................For example, if the Eisenhower administration had been hijacked by the right, why then did the President adamantly refuse to assist the French at Diem Bien Phu (the French essentially groveled for our assistance)? So, too, why did he similarly refuse to come to the aid of the British (our most trusted ally, supposedly) at Suez? It seems as if the right-wing didn't get to the President on at least these two occasions..............................................................................Of course, the biggest/most relevant question to ask is this. If the right-wing had truly come to dominate this Presidency, then why did Eisenhower cancel a spate of expensive weapons systems and, instead, use this money to fully fund the interstate highway system? I don't know, at least that would be my main question........................................................................................All of this, of course, isn't to say that Eisenhower didn't make mistakes. As I've pointed out, the U.S.'s insertion of the Shah in Iran was hugely couterproductive (and, yes, a miscalculation that continues to haunt us). But, seriously, folks, to say that the Eisenhower administration was a tool of the right, that's about as sensical as saying that the Clinton administration was left-wing. It's a huge oversimplification (partisan as hell, too), in other words.