The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader. A lot going on below the radar.
The “hidden-hand Presidency” was the term used by Princeton political scientist Fred Greenstein to describe the Presidency of Dwight David Eisenhower. During his term most historians and political scientists viewed Eisenhower as a political amateur who reigned but did not rule. “This man neither liked the game he was engaged in nor had gained much understanding of its rules,” argued political scientist Richard Neustadt in 1960.
Once other researchers gained access to Eisenhower's Presidential papers (which had not been available to Neustadt and other earlier scholars), the image of Eisenhower as an amateur in office underwent substantial revision. Greenstein concluded that Eisenhower was actually a sophisticated politician who had honed his grasp of politics while in the army. During World War II he had to smooth over disputes among Allied officers of several nations, and he eventually worked closely with three world statesmen: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, and British prime minister Winston Churchill.
Greenstein argued that Eisenhower played politics the way he played poker: with a “hidden hand” that was much better than his opponents realized. There were five facets to Eisenhower's approach to politics. First, he was a skillful politician who chose not to let others realize that fact. He camouflaged his participation in politics by relying on others to take a partisan role while he himself played the role of “President of all the people.” His adversaries would underestimate him as a politician, but the American people would support him for being “above politics.” Yet in reality Eisenhower was extensively involved in Republican party politics. Second, Eisenhower often used language that was deliberately ambiguous or spoke in an evasive, noncommittal, or seemingly confused way. This tactic enabled him to avoid taking unpopular positions on controversial issues, but it also led his adversaries to underestimate him. Third, Eisenhower avoided dealing in personalities. He never attacked anyone else's motives or made statements that would convert his political adversaries into bitter enemies. He often masked his own negative feelings about those with whom he had to work—including leading members of Congress of his own party—in order to stay on friendly terms with them. Maintaining his image as a genial leader also contributed to Eisenhower's popularity. Fourth, Eisenhower had a keen grasp of psychology: he could step into other people's shoes in order to understand how they viewed the world. He always tried to know what his adversaries were thinking before he engaged them in a controversy. And he tried to think of ways to bring them over to his side. Finally, Eisenhower gave his subordinates important assignments but never lost control of policy. He would share credit for success with subordinates but would let them take most of the blame for the failures, disassociating himself from them when necessary to preserve his own position as a statesman in the eyes of the American people.
Critics of the hidden-hand theory observe that sometimes the “hidden hand” seemed so well hidden that no one could detect Eisenhower's leadership. He never transferred his own popularity to his political party, which suffered disastrous defeats in state and congressional elections in 1958 and lost the Presidency by 1960. He exerted no moral leadership on civil rights for African Americans, which was the key domestic issue of the time. His economic policies resulted in slow rates of growth and two severe recessions. He never groomed anyone to succeed him, and Richard Nixon, who was far from his first choice for President, was able to win the Republican nomination in 1960. Nevertheless, the hidden-hand theory of the Presidency is a useful way to analyze any President's behavior, because it prevents us from underestimating the political skills of incumbents who may be deliberately concealing their role in party politics in order to maintain the image of a statesman.
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