Prosecute Julian Assange ("I love Wikileaks!")

[StCapps]

Oh Nixon idolized Eisenhower. Nixon was in awe of him. Supreme Allied Commander.

Before Missile Gap it was Bomber Gap.

Now, Eisenhower was skeptical, but he didn't really know, this is why he ordered the CIA to build the U-2.

The U-2 was originally built to find out how many Bison bombers the Soviets actually had.

Which was 4. But the estimate given to Eisenhower was 800.

If Eisenhower had aired his skepticism in public, that would have helped Nixon in 1960.

Would it? I don't think so.

You have to factor in that back then the media were constantly beating the war drums and working the public up into a frenzy.

If you came out and said the Soviets weren't ten feet tall, they would have turned on you as being a Commie Stooge.

This is how Kennedy won, he exploited that, he went super hawk and made the GOP out to be the doves.

Nixon was pretty much neutralized on his anti-communist bona fides, because Kennedy made sure he was so hawkish that Nixon couldn't play that card.

The media would have turned on Eisenhower? If it's Eisenhower saying it, I think the whole appeal to authority bails out Nixon, anyone else, probably wouldn't help.

[Smitty-48]

If Eisenhower had aired his skepticism in public, that would have helped Nixon in 1960.

Would it? I don't think so.

You have to factor in that back then the media were constantly beating the war drums and working the public up into a frenzy.

If you came out and said the Soviets weren't ten feet tall, they would have turned on you as being a Commie Stooge.

This is how Kennedy won, he exploited that, he went super hawk and made the GOP out to be the doves.

Nixon was pretty much neutralized on his anti-communist bona fides, because Kennedy made sure he was so hawkish that Nixon couldn't play that card.

The media would have turned on Eisenhower? If it's Eisenhower saying it, I think the whole appeal to authority bails out Nixon, anyone else, probably wouldn't help.

The media did turn on Ike.

Kennedy assailed Ike and Nixon as being soft on communism and the media went for it.

Kennedy out hawked the GOP.

The GOP at the time being much more isolationist and the Democrats being the World War Two fighting New Dealers.

[Smitty-48]

Back in the fifties, the GOP were not the hardhats, nor were the Democrats the hippies.

That all comes from Vietnam.

Before Vietnam, the Democrats were the ones who fought the wars, the GOP was the rich peoples party.

[StCapps]

Back in the fifties, the GOP were not the hardhats, nor were the Democrats the hippies.

That all comes from Vietnam.

Before Vietnam, the Democrats were the ones who fought the wars, the GOP was the rich peoples party.

That's true, but I thought Ike was the exception to that perception with the media. Or perhaps the media thought he was soft, but the electorate sure didn't.

[Smitty-48]

Back in the fifties, the GOP were not the hardhats, nor were the Democrats the hippies.

That all comes from Vietnam.

Before Vietnam, the Democrats were the ones who fought the wars, the GOP was the rich peoples party.

That's true, but I thought Ike was the exception to that perception with the media. Or perhaps the media thought he was soft, but the electorate sure didn't.

Eisenhower was popular with the public because he represented stability, no drama.

But he wasn't popular with the Establishment, because the Establishment were all FDR New Dealer Democrats.

Eisenhower's personal popularity didn't extend to the GOP as a whole.

At this time the New Dealers portrayed the GOP as the America First Isolationists who were just rich people who thought Hitler was a great fellow and who didn't want to pay taxes for anything.

Which was pretty much tru.

But since the New Dealers had won the war, the America Firsters who had opposed it were not popular.

[StCapps]

Back in the fifties, the GOP were not the hardhats, nor were the Democrats the hippies.

That all comes from Vietnam.

Before Vietnam, the Democrats were the ones who fought the wars, the GOP was the rich peoples party.

That's true, but I thought Ike was the exception to that perception with the media. Or perhaps the media thought he was soft, but the electorate sure didn't.

Eisenhower was popular with the public because he represented stability, no drama.

But he wasn't popular with the Establishment, because the Establishment were all FDR New Dealer Democrats.

Eisenhower's personal popularity didn't extend to the GOP as a whole.

At this time the New Dealers portrayed the GOP as the America First Isolationists who were just rich people who thought Hitler was a great fellow and who didn't want to pay taxes for anything.

Which was pretty much tru.

But since the New Dealers had won the war, the America Firsters who had opposed it were not popular.

That's what I mean though, if Eisenhower had expressed his skepticism of the missile gap, perhaps the public wouldn't have been quite as hawkish, which would have helped Nixon in 1960, though not sure it would have won him the election.

[Smitty-48]

That's true, but I thought Ike was the exception to that perception with the media. Or perhaps the media thought he was soft, but the electorate sure didn't.

Eisenhower was popular with the public because he represented stability, no drama.

But he wasn't popular with the Establishment, because the Establishment were all FDR New Dealer Democrats.

Eisenhower's personal popularity didn't extend to the GOP as a whole.

At this time the New Dealers portrayed the GOP as the America First Isolationists who were just rich people who thought Hitler was a great fellow and who didn't want to pay taxes for anything.

Which was pretty much tru.

But since the New Dealers had won the war, the America Firsters who had opposed it were not popular.

That's what I mean though, if Eisenhower had expressed his skepticism of the missile gap, perhaps the public wouldn't have been quite as hawkish, which would have helped Nixon in 1960, though not sure it would have won him the election.

That's what I mean tho, the public was hawkish, the public is out of control hawkish, until they get spooked by the Cuban Missile Crisis, that scared the bejeezers out of everybody, then it started going in the other direction, just in time for Vietnam.

Esienhower's MICC speech did not go over well in real time, at the time, it was Soft On Communism.

[Smitty-48]

And of course the big reason the public was so hawkish, was Eisenhower.

The Domino Theory told the public that their Dien Bien Phu was coming.

And if America lost, it was World War Three next.

So Ike is the one who spooked them in the first place.

Kennedy just exploited that and beat Ike at his own game, by doubling down hard.

[Smitty-48]

Don't forget, this is before Vietnam.

The public believed the government without question.

Ike told them they were on the brink of World War Three.

It caused a sort of mania.

Once that blaze started burning out of control, politicians were afraid to confront it.

[StCapps]

And of course the big reason the public was so hawkish, was Eisenhower.

The Domino Theory told the public that their Dien Bien Phu was coming.

And if America lost, it was World War Three next.

So Ike is the one who spooked them in the first place.

Kennedy just exploited that and beat Ike at his own game, by doubling down hard.

The "Eisenhower Screwed Nixon In 1960" thing is true then, but the lack of public skepticism of the missile gap by Eisenhower wasn't what screwed him, it was "Domino Theory! ZOMG! Dien Bien Phu!" that screwed him.