AUSTIN HOYT: Ike in a New Light

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the President who got no respect. Perceived by many as a good-natured bumbler, his White House was mockingly referred to as the “Tomb of the Well-Known Soldier.”

When he left office in 1960 after two terms, a survey of historians ranked the Kansas-born Republican in the bottom third of Presidents, below the long-forgotten Chester Arthur. After Eisenhower’s records were declassified in the early ‘80s, however, historians have perceived the 34th President in a new light. He now ranks near the top.

“The American Experience: Eisenhower” documentary airing Wednesday on PBS, explores the complex, cunning man behind the famous grin. The documentary, narrated by historian David McCullough, is divided into two sections.

“Soldier” follows Eisenhower’s career from his early years in Kansas, his education and early Army career and his meteoric rise during World War II when he became the symbol for the Allied victory over the Nazis.

“Statesman” traces his two terms (1953-60) as President--years marked by the rise and fall of the controversial Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wisc.), the Cold War, school integration and the rise of the missile age. While in office Eisenhower suffered a heart attack and a stroke. He died after his seventh heart attack in March 1969 at the age of 78.

The documentary features archival footage, excerpts from Eisenhower’s correspondence and diaries and interviews with biographers, historians, eyewitnesses and members of the Eisenhower family, including his son John and grandson David.

Times Staff Writer Susan King discussed “Eisenhower” with award-winning executive producer Austin Hoyt (“Korea: The Unknown War” and “Mexico”).

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Were you an Eisenhower buff when you began the documentary?

My boss suggested I do it in ’87. I sort of groaned and avoided it for three years because it immediately didn’t seem very interesting. Suddenly, there wasn’t anything on my plate and I had to do it. I was very envious of my colleagues on “The American Experience” programs who could deal with Nixon, L.B.J. and Kennedy. They seemed to be people or families with high drama in their lives. I said to myself: “What do I have to work with Ike? Honesty, integrity and service to country.” But I liked what we did and I grew very fond of him.

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The documentary is based on scholarship of the declassified Eisenhower record. Could you talk about how those papers changed the image of Eisenhower?

There were a lot of papers by his aides and they put an embargo on them for 20 or 30 years. There was a lot of work done that came out in the early ‘80s. Fred Greenstein of Princeton, who wrote a book called “The Hidden-Hand Presidency,” described himself as sort of a liberal Kennedy Democrat. He was of the “old bubble-head school” (of scholarship about Eisenhower). Fred said that within minutes of looking through some of these diaries, he realized that the image people had of Eisenhower of being a benign, grandfatherly, well-intentioned bumbler was absolutely wrong. He was actually much more clever and more wily and more skilled, with more political cunning than Fred had ever thought.

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Was it his demeanor and appearance which gave people the feeling Eisenhower was just an “old bubble-head”?

I think it was deliberate. He cultivated the smile in World War II. He cultivated the sense of optimism. A commander has got to radiate optimism and he was famous for his smile. I think that carried him into the presidency. I think he preferred to operate behind the scenes and present a sort of presidential image and do the political fighting behind the scenes and not upfront.

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It seems, though, with his “hidden-hand” approach to the presidency, he actually began the trend of covert operations and spying.

I think you can probably hold him accountable for some of the abuses of the CIA later on. I think he relied on intelligence and deception a lot during World War II. So, he relied on intelligence during World War II as anyone would. He did use the CIA as a private presidential army.

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What was his relationship with wife Mamie? Did his alleged affair with driver and secretary Kay Summersby during World War II cause difficulties?

I think there was tension with Mamie over this. I think what happened with a lot of those generals during the war is they were off doing heroic things and they were just personally growing all the time. Their wives were at home not doing much. I think Eisenhower outgrew Mamie, sort of, intellectually. I think it was a good relationship. But I don’t think he had much interest in talking to women. I think in the evenings she would knit and he would paint or do something else.

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What were the qualities that made him such a great leader during World War II?

He brought people together. I think it’s easy to forget that the British couldn’t win the war by themselves and we couldn’t have either. He brought the two armies together. He was good at public relations.

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Do you see parallels between Eisenhower and retired Gen. Colin Powell?

I think Colin Powell in a lot of ways is very much like Eisenhower. He hasn’t declared his political hand and you don’t even know if he is a Republican or a Democrat, but he is a very competent military guy--attractive, nice bearing and has Washington experience, which Eisenhower did as Army chief of staff. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Colin Powell run. “The American Experience: Eisenhower” airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on KVCR and at 9 p.m. on KCET and KPBS.