I reach adulthood during Ike”s administration. The one memory that stands out is that of competence. Even through several scandals, Ike’s Administration was competent and self correcting. He did the people’s work without injecting his ego. He was not a populist and was honest.
Great take on things. I agree that he was not a populist. But he was eminently popular. :-) Folks just naturally liked and trusted him.
It’s too bad that the American people lost their minds for twenty years after Ike left office. Kennedy. Johnson. Nixon. Ford. Bleh...