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Digital Media, Moderate Views, & Leadership

The inflection point between the Eisenhower & Kennedy presidencies.

Author

Josh Cadorette
May 25, 2023

Howdy from Durham,

I’m currently re-reading David Brooks’ The Road to Character.

In it, Brooks profiles a number of folks who have certain moral traits.

One such profile includes Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ike wasn’t perfect, but it’s clear to me that the values from his early 20th century mid-west upbringing have become increasingly rare.

It got me thinkin’ about how our expectations of a president - both on the campaign trail and while serving in office - have changed due to digital media.

My question became: how would a man like Ike - the affable WWII General from the Kansas - fair as a candidate in the digital media era?

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s official presidential portrait.

Digital media changed everything in the 1960 US Presidential Election.

Before we jump to Eisenhower, we need a bit of historical context.

It’s a classic story. JFK faced off vs. Nixon in the nation’s first ever televised debate in the early fall of 1960. Kennedy looked poised. His team had prepped him with stage makeup. Nixon looked nervous. He had a 5 o’clock shadow and often declined to answer certain questions.

Peoples’ perception of who won the debate varied depending on how they had consumed it.

LBJ (JFK’s running mate) listened to the debate on the radio. He thought Nixon won.

Henry Cabot Lodge (Nixon’s running mate) watched on tv. When referring to Nixon, Lodge (allegedly) went on to say “That son-of-a… just lost us the election.” In words that don’t need to be bleeped out, he thought Kennedy won.

The public, who largely watched the debate on TV, seemed to agree with Lodge’s take. Kennedy carried that momentum all the way to the White House.

Suddenly, personality politics were born. It wasn’t just about a candidate’s track record or values system but their appearance and likability.

Fast-forward to present day, and it’s not just about appearance and likability. It’s about soundbites. Our news cycles have gotten faster and faster with the introduction of 140 character tweets and 24 hour stories.

What would Ike, the last president before digital media entered the fold, have to say about all of this?

Nixon frequently turned to his handkerchief in the 1960 debate in what appeared to be attempts to dab away sweat, an indication to the American people that Kennedy was the more confident candidate.

Let’s contrast Ike’s final speech as president with Kennedy’s inauguration speech.

Here’s David Brooks from The Road to Character on the contrast between the two leaders’ words in a matter of days.

On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy gave an inaugural address that signaled a cultural shift…One generation and one era was ending and another generation would, as he put it, “begin anew.”…The possibilities, he argued, were limitless…He called on his listeners not just to tolerate problems, but to end them: “Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease.” It was the speech of a man supremely confident in himself. It inspired millions of people around the world and set the tone and standard for political rhetoric ever since.

Three days earlier, however, Eisenhower had given a speech that epitomized the worldview that was fading away. Whereas Kennedy emphasized limitless possibilities, Eisenhower warned against hubris. Whereas Kennedy celebrated courage, Eisenhower celebrated prudence. Whereas Kennedy exhorted the nation to venture boldly forth, Eisenhower called for balance.

The word “balance” recurs throughout his text—a need to balance competing priorities, “balance between the private economy and the public economy, balance between the cost and hoped-for advantages, balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable, balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between the actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.”

Eisenhower warned the country against belief in quick fixes. Americans, he said, should never believe that “some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties.” He warned against human frailty, particularly the temptation to be shortsighted and selfish. He asked his countrymen to “avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow.”

David Brooks

In an era where soundbites secure presidencies, which candidates receive the most attention - those who are high reaching/attention grabbing or those who are cautious/tame?

I’ll give you a hint: balance doesn’t drive engagement online. Passion - in the form of complete agreement/affirmation or complete disagreement/moral outrage - attracts attention. Moderate views are only good for one thing on the internet: getting folks on both ends of the spectrum to be annoyed at you.

Bottom line: Dwight Eisenhower is not likely to be the kind of candidate who could get elected in the age of digital media.

Look no further than this photo of Eisenhower (age 70) and Kennedy (age 43) in the Oval Office to understand that, coinciding with the rise of the TV, the 60s were about to become a decade of divergence from the status quo.

Does that mean Kennedy was in the wrong for his style of rhetoric? Heck no.

First off, while Kennedy’s rhetoric was new and flashy relative to 1960, it is wildly relaxed relative to our partisan environment today.

Second, his bold proclamations resulted in action that the country desperately needed - most notably with the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1969 moon landing.

Third, and most importantly, it wasn’t Kennedy who set us on this path away from moderate views and compromise. The digital media tools themselves - first basic TV, then cable news and social media - are what changed the landscape.

These tools reward outlandish, attention grabbing behavior because (whether we love it or we hate it) we simply cannot look away.

My guess is that, despite our unhealthy digital media systems that discourage humble leaders from obtaining the highest leadership positions, good people are still in ample supply.

And frankly, these kind of folks couldn’t give a darn about social media recognition.

So whether it’s a handwritten note, a handshake, or a hug, be sure to give your local leaders who serve quietly some love.

Because, if you only paid attention to the news feeds at our fingertips, you’d think good people are going extinct (but you and I know that’s not true).

What I’m paying attention to:

Per David Brooks in The Road to Character, Eisenhower is said to have carried this poem around with him.

Take a bucket, fill it with water,

Put your hand in—clear up to the wrist.

Now pull it out; the hole that remains

Is a measure of how much you’ll be missed….

The moral of this quaint example: To do just the best that you can,

Be proud of yourself, but remember, There is no Indispensable Man!

Unknown

More commentary on the effects of digital media. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

Thanks for reading

Who is someone that you look up to because they serve quietly and humbly?

Reply and let me know,

Josh

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