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Three Days In January: Dwight
Eisenhower's Final Mission by Bret Baier is a very informative
book. Readers learn about the time, not by being pounded over
the head with facts and figures, but through the personalities
themselves. The issues discussed in the book come right out
of today's headlines.
Mr. Baier is the Chief Political Anchor for Fox News Channel
and the Anchor and Executive Editor of Special Report with
Bret Baier. What is fascinating is how he takes readers on
a journey of the time period between Eisenhower's last days
in office and JFK's inauguration. The book also reflects on
the influences in his life from growing up in Kansas to the
Supreme Commander during WWII to the election of 1952.
The book opens with the meeting on December 6th, 1960 between
the outgoing President Eisenhower and the incoming President-elect
JFK. Thinking Kennedy too green he dismissed the younger Kennedy
as ineffective. JFK with his charm, young family, and ready
to implement the New Frontier was the direct opposite of the
older and less flamboyant Dwight Eisenhower. Baier noted,
"The media storm around Kennedy was so effective and
biased it swept the general public up in its wave. People
were persuaded that Eisenhower was nothing more than a historical
artifact."
The book also compares Eisenhower to America's first President,
George Washington. They shared the same qualities of being
good listeners, reflective, confident, persuasive, and understanding
of the larger picture. Baier feels they "were kindred
spirits. Both were generals who did not seek out the public
limelight but eventually chose to run for President. They
wanted to empower people. What Washington expressed in his
farewell address resonated with Eisenhower, the need to protect
the freedoms of Americans."
He describes the similarities between the past and present
candidates: "Both are outsiders, non-politicians. In
fact, Eisenhower was the last one before Trump. They are unconventional
Republicans, despise labels, despise political ideology, and
operated out of patriotic feelings. The difference is in tone,
tenor, and how they communicate."
Eisenhower favored practical tacticians, a matter of getting
people who could get things done. Sound familiar? "I
describe in the book how Eisenhower had picked a cabinet of
eight millionaires and a plumber, the Secretary of Labor Martin
Durkin. He also chose as his Secretary of Defense, Charlie
Wilson, the former CEO of General Motors, and businessman
George Humphrey as Secretary of the Treasury. The one contrast
was that he did not have any other military people in the
cabinet, other than himself."
Baier furthermore explained that the reason for not having
any other military people was that "he did not want it
to look like a take over of the military or a war cabinet.
He was a man who craved peace." It seems that the former
President would agree that anyone who has been to war themselves
knows what it is like. They are probably the most reluctant
to send troops into a war.
This book shows how Eisenhower in his Farewell Address wanted
to provide a blueprint on where America should be headed and
a warning to President-elect Kennedy. "I wrote the dedication
of the book to my sons, hoping they and their generation would
allow history to inform their decisions in the future. For
example, the Cold War when he attempted to soften the hard
line with Russia. He wanted to reduce the inflammatory rhetoric
constantly tempering his words about common values built from
within rather than based on the abhorrence of the other. Yet,
he was not naïve and felt we should have our eyes wide
open. The advice he gave to Kennedy could apply to Donald
Trump today. ‘Don't go to any meeting with the Russians
too early; get your sea legs first. Otherwise, you will be
eaten alive.'"
Baier summarizes the speech by describing Eisenhower as "a
whistle-blower. He strove a balance between military strength
and domestic needs. If America should get involved in a crisis,
we should use overwhelming force, but there is no need to
get involved everywhere in the world. Future Presidents should
have a balance, listening to dissenting views, and work in
a bi-partisan way to get things done."
This is a masterful piece of history in the understanding
of President Eisenhower. It is a gripping read with a lot
of detailed facts that are both interesting and informative,
but definitely not boring.
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