The advanced age of Joe Biden is on the ballot in November‚ when he will be almost 82 years old. You can view his physical stumbles‚ his angry tirades at the sky‚ his sentences that trail off into the void where they die a cold and lonely death‚ and rightly wonder what goes on behind closed doors in high-level discussions about the economy‚ Russia and China. You can watch his cringe-worthy live appearances that include shout-outs to dead people and hand-shakes with the thin air‚ and conclude‚ like 75 percent of Americans‚ that he is simply too old to be president. You can also view video of Biden from just a few years ago and note the rapidity of his decline. Which brings me to vice president Kamala Harris. Joe Biden is no Dwight Eisenhower. And for that matter‚ Kamala Harris is no Richard Nixon. Harris is not just a heartbeat away from the presidency; she is a slip and fall away from the presidency. The problem for the Democrats is that the lightweight Harris polls even lower than Biden‚ no small feat. What to do? The Washington Post has put forth a solution. In a recent article about the election of 1956‚ the Post noted many similarities to today. Dwight Eisenhower was then the second oldest man to run for president and he had a heart condition (Biden is now the oldest man to run for president). Richard Nixon was then Eisenhower’s unpopular vice-president. Likewise‚ Harris is now Biden’s unpopular vice-president. (READ MORE from Kevin Brady: College Presidents and the New Multi-Racial America) And yet Eisenhower won re-election. He went on to a successful second term without having to resort to his vice-president‚ who‚ in any event‚ was later twice elected on his own. Isn’t it obvious? Biden can win! Harris can wait! Yes we can!  Pondering this over‚ I retreated to my local watering hole and fell into a reverie over my favorite bar room conversation: Who was the greatest American president — and why? If you find yourself in this situation and the guy on the stool next to you names Jack Kennedy‚ which has often happened to me (a consequence of spending too much time in Irish bars)‚ read on. My own choice‚ which I reveal now publicly for the first time‚ is Dwight D. Eisenhower (‘Ike”). Hear me out. Conservative Governance Let’s start with Ike’s last public statement‚ his most famous‚ where he warned the country about the military-industrial complex: “Every gun that is made‚ every warship launched‚ every rocket fired signifies‚ in the final sense‚ a theft from those who hunger and are not fed‚ those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers‚ the genius of its scientists‚ the hopes of its children.” Not exactly what you would expect from a life-long soldier and the five-star general who planned Operation Torch in North Africa‚ the D-day invasion‚ and led the Allies to victory in Europe in World War II.  Ike’s parting comments on the military-industrial complex were far-sighted. He perceived the rise of unelected officials and lobbyists within the Washington beltway as a real threat to democracy. That threat lives on today in the deep state and has become‚ if anything‚ more dangerous. Ike saw it first and was not afraid to sound the alarm on behalf of the country. Ike’s rhetoric was entirely consistent with his record in office‚ where he reduced military spending from $ 515 billion in 1952 to $ 370 billion in 1960. How did he do it during the frozen depths of the Cold War? In 1953‚ his first year in office‚ Ike ended the Korean War and set the peace terms which have held to this day. Throughout his administration‚ he questioned military budgets and cut programs judiciously — as only an insider could. (He worked in Washington from 1932 to 1935 under Douglas MacArthur‚ who served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army at the time. Congressional budgets were Ike’s specialty.) (READ MORE: A Revisionist’s Korean War) Ike also had something to say about the technology-government complex that gave us the lockdown and  seven trillion dollars of runaway Covid 19 spending: “The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment‚ project allocation‚ and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded. Yet in holding scientific discovery in respect‚ as we should‚ we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become captive of a scientific-technology elite.” Ike took a dim view of government spending in general. He liked deficit spending even less. During his administration‚ he ran three budget surpluses and reduced federal spending from 20.4 percent of GNP to 18.4. This‚ in the teeth of a Democratic majority in Congress for six out of his eight years in office. While Ike was cutting useless spending out of the budget‚ he also increased Social Security payments and created the department of Health‚ Education and Welfare. He worked with Canada to construct the St. Lawrence Seaway‚ a development that ensured an efficient all-water transport from the Midwest to Europe‚ which vastly improved the viability of American grain exports. Oh‚ he also built the federal highway system‚ to date the largest most successful transportation project in U.S. history. He did not accomplish these fiscal feats by printing money or passing federal debt onto our children. He did it by cutting spending and keeping taxes high‚ which he felt was necessary to pay down the federal debt incurred during World War II. In the face of ruinous public debt‚ Ike chose the responsible‚ if unpopular‚ path. He nevertheless maintained an average approval rating of 64 percent over the course of his presidency.  On matters of social justice‚ Ike said very little. Privately‚ he did not support Brown v the Board of Education‚ which de-segregated the public schools‚ thinking it an overreach of federal power. However‚ after the decision‚ he said this: “The Supreme Court has spoken and I am sworn to uphold the constitutional processes in this country; and I will obey.” Ike was as good as his word. In 1957‚ the governor of Arkansas set up a ring of soldiers to prevent nine black students from entering Little Rock high school. Ike stood tall. He didn’t send down his Attorney General to argue with the governor. He didn’t send in the National Guard. He sent 1‚000 armed paratroopers from the 101st Airborne. The kids got in. (READ MORE: American Despotism: The Great Upheaval Over Race Begins) At this point‚ your Democratic bar mate who thought Kennedy was the greatest president might appear confused. “Wait. Didn’t Kennedy do that? Wasn’t Eisenhower a Republican? That can’t be true!” But it is. Ike’s Restraint Then there are the things Ike didn’t do. In 1954‚ the French were being wiped out by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu. They pushed for an American rescue‚ which included the use of nuclear weapons. Fire-breathing Cold Warriors within his administration demanded the same. Ike assessed the situation on the ground with a military eye. He contributed some supplies but no soldiers‚ a decision that subsequent U.S. presidents might well have heeded.  After Egyptian president Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956‚ the British and French invaded to get it back. No colonialist‚ Ike took Nasser’s side against his former allies. The British and French were badly defeated in the field and eventually left with their tail between their legs — another lesson here for U.S. presidents who cannot resist flexing their muscles in the Middle East. Also in 1956‚ Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest. While sympathetic to the Hungarians‚ Ike did not make false promises to them. Surrounded by communist states‚ with no ports and a shared border with the Soviet Union‚ Ike‚ the logistics expert‚ knew the Hungarians never had a chance.  Ike did push back against communism‚ which remained a priority for his administration. He strongly supported the covert activities of Allen Dulles at CIA. But Ike also understood the Russians from his days as Supreme Allied Commander during World War II. He knew when and where to push. Because of his experience and his judgement‚ Ike became that rarity of all things — a commander-in-chief who is also a statesman. After a long career as an officer in the Army‚ president of Columbia University‚ Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and Supreme NATO Commander‚ Ike had plenty of executive experience. It showed. He filled his administration with CEOs from the private sector‚ who‚ like him‚ understood how to manage large complex organizations.   And then there is the character of the man himself. He once said: “Take the job seriously. Don’t take yourself seriously.” Coming from the man who green-lit D-day in bad weather‚ Ike knew whereof he spoke. Ike was born in 1890 in Texas. He liked golf‚ cards‚ and a few drinks with the boys. Not one for over-sharing‚ Ike kept a tight leash on his sometimes volatile emotions. In 1952‚ Ike attended the 82nd Airborne convention to honor the same paratroopers he ordered behind German lines at Utah Beach. The night before D-day‚ he met them face-to-face just before their planes took off. At the convention‚ former Sergeant Leonard Funk‚ the only living Medal of Honor holder of the 82nd Airborne‚ rose and said: “It was a terrible decision for a man to make. Ike not only made it‚ but had the courage to come personally to face the men he was sending to almost certain death.” Ike’s eyes welled and tears poured down his cheeks. He covered his face with a handkerchief for many minutes. After he recovered himself‚ he rose and spoke to the group about the meaning of their sacrifice: duty‚ honor‚ and country. When he finished‚ the paratroopers remained stone silent in their seats for 30 seconds— and then stood for an ovation. At this point‚ check in with your bar mate. Ask him if he still wants to talk about Kennedy‚ the junior Senator from Massachusetts and the youngest president ever elected. Kennedy was built for television. Ike was built on character‚ experience‚ and deep humanity — substance over form. But what about Washington and Lincoln? During their time‚ both men led a country that was a concept‚ but not a world power. Their decisions did not reverberate instantly across the globe. Ike’s did. Roosevelt shared the stage with Churchill‚ Stalin‚ Hitler‚ and Tojo. The war had not yet been won. The atomic bomb had not been dropped. Roosevelt was not granted the same degree of raw power given to Ike.  Ike served in a time of clear American supremacy with almost unlimited global dominance on a scale never experienced before in human history. And how did he handle all that power? With modesty. With restraint‚ circumscribed at all times by the U.S. Constitution. We shall not see his like again.  This much I know. Joe Biden is no Dwight Eisenhower. And for that matter‚ Kamala Harris is no Richard Nixon. The post Dwight D. Eisenhower Is My Favorite President appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.