So you're saying he's the reason religious fundamentalists have been more porminant?
The most religious thing I saw Eisenhower do is say a prayer at his first inauguration.
But I do kind of agree about some of his negatives, especially in regard to foreign policy. Sure, we can act all warm and fuzzy about his admittance of a "military industrial complex", but that doesn't make him an automatic hero. If anything that just makes him more of an honest villain.
But the religious crap? I must be deaf or something because I don't recall Eisenhower going on tv and saying "homosexuality is an evil plague and must be destroyed!" or ranting and raving about how women should be homemakers and shouldn't have promiscuous relations with the menfolk and how the Birth Control League is evil.
SO yeah, I must've missed something while reading up on his wikipedia page or the ten years or so of American History education.
I'm not saying he came into office and went on a religious rampage or anything, the emphasis in my previous post should have been on the future implications. He changed the pledge, added "In God We Trust" to currency, and insisted that religion be an integral factor in governing. He didn't create the religious link in government but exacerbated it in such culturally lasting mediums that his influence has lent great power to the link between government and religion.
I also don't see how his actions could be taken any other way than wasteful and directly contradictory to his military industrial proclamation upon leaving office. He accelerated the birth of our nation's damaging addiction to petroleum by means of the interstate system. He massively subsidized the automobile and the suburb. That set us up for the societal conundrum that has plagued us since.
To me, having your administrations (relatively tame) alterations to the American lifestyle last this long and create huge issues this far along is more than enough to rank him lower than almost any President. The same goes for McKinley and his absurdly juvenile, reactionary economic policy.
