Appearing as a panel member on the weekend's syndicated Chris Matthews Show, Huffington Post editoral director Howard Fineman - formerly of Newsweek - praised former President Eisenhower's decision to advise then-President Johnson to "carry out Jack Kennedy's agenda" in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination.
Fineman ended up referring to Eisenhower's advice as "amazing statesmanship and foresight." Fineman:
(Video can be found here.)
But more important and interesting is the advice that Ike gave to Lyndon Johnson about what LBJ should say before a joint session of Congress. Ike was a Republican President and really more of a conservative one in certain respects than we remember.
But what he told LBJ was that LBJ should promise to carry forth the sweeping liberal agenda of Jack Kennedy, who had been assassinated, that the best thing that LBJ could do for the country and for LBJ's own standing within his party than the presidency, was to promise to carry out Jack Kennedy's agenda.
So here, you really have, at a pivotal moment, a Republican President advocating a Democratic agenda for the good of the country. Amazing statesmanship and foresight really on Ike's part.
