Eisenhower and his political career.

Essay by Anonymous UserCollege, UndergraduateA+, January 1996

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'I do not want to be president of the United States, and I want no political office or political connection of any kind,' said General Dwight David Eisenhower to a stream of prominent visitors to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe, near Paris during the last half of 1951. Despite Eisenhower's often-repeated declaration against holding political office, American business leaders and politicians continued to urge him to run for the White House. They told him that the 'stalemated' Korean War, and scandals in Washington divided the nation and took away from it's prestige. Eisenhower admirers work laboriously to persuade the general that he was what the American people wanted and needed for the country; however Eisenhower loathed the partisanship of the political arena and lacked any burning desire to hold public office. In early 1952 Eisenhower hesitantly entered politics, and ran for president under the Republican ticket.

'My first day at the president's desk,' Dwight D.

Eisenhower wrote in his diary on January, 21 1953. 'Plenty of worries and difficult problems. But...today [just seems] like a continuation of all I've been doing since July of 1941-even before that. To Eisenhower the political game was a new experience, but all the demands of the presidency were very familiar. As Supreme Allied commander and Army Chief of Staff, Eisenhower developed beliefs and ways of doing things that would shape his presidency. During the months between his election and his inauguration, Eisenhower carefully organized an administration that reflected his style of leadership, and his assessment of the needs of the nation.

Eisenhower took a view towards dealing with congress that many of his predecessors didn't. Many of the presidents before Eisenhower seemed to be 'at war' with congress, but Eisenhower decided that nothing would get done without cooperation on both sides. Because he enjoyed...