Paw Prints Anecdotes: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower Anecdote...

During his first term Eisenhower appointed Arthur Burns as his first chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. (Dr. Burns later served as chairman of the Federal Reserve and ambassador to Germany under President Reagan.) At their first meeting, Burns suggested that he send Ike a memo outlining a plan for organizing the flow of economic advice to the president. Said Ike, "Keep it short. I can't read." Replied Burns, "We'll get along fine. I can't write." (It worked out well: the two settled on a one-hour weekly conference of the council and the president.)

Biographical Note...

U.S. general and statesman; 34th president of the United States (1953-61). During World War II he commanded U.S. troops in Britain and Allied troops in North Africa and Italy (1942-43) before becoming supreme Allied commander in charge of the Normandy landings (1943-44). In 1951 he assumed supreme command of NATO. As president, he tried to stabilize the Middle East against Communist influence by offering economic and military aid--the Eisenhower Doctrine (1957).

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