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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Orcastraiter who wrote (14594)	8/27/2004 12:29:07 AM
From: Oeconomicus	Respond to of 90947

Ike was a hell of a president and commander in chief. I wish he were still with us. Ike is more of an aberration than any representation of what Americans, over history, have sought in a president as far as direct military experience. Very few were career military officers, even if many did serve at an early point in their adult lives. In fact, I'd say that America has tended to shy away from turning military leaders into presidents and, likewise, military leaders have tended to shy away from politics. There are obvious exceptions, beginning with Washington of course, but ask any political historian and you'll find the same answer. This, IMO, is a good thing and is partly a result of the wisdom of the founders, who made sure that the military in the US would always be subject to civilian authority, with that authority checked and balanced by separate roles of the executive and legislative branches. In any case, if, as you suggest, military experience is critical in a wartime president, why haven't we elected more retired generals over our history?