In the 1950s, we could easily gone back to New Deal policies but didn’t. We could have gone to a version of national health care but didn’t. We could have had a big war but didn’t. We could have had extensive racial violence but didn’t.
All things considered, we did alright. We prospered.
And Ike was was perfectly content to stay out of the headlines as much as possible and just quietly do his job. Unlike most since him, he was not to be on some sort of ego trip.