In that regard he shares what, IMHO, is Bush's primary strength & weakness.

Strength because it gave a certain moral values, a weakness because it allows one a back door which other religious folks and leaders can use to exploit and declare "God's will and righteousness."

As a born-again he has assumed the mantle of Christian ideology, and also inherited the shadow of the evangelical Grahams. This clear agenda is Bush's boon and burden.

That quote, as Fox mentioned, was referring to the communist threat, not fascism or big business. Being an atheist or non-religious was akin to being a communist in this era. I would've been a very unwelcome conservative at this time.

As for Eisenhower's fear of the military-industrial complex, that was due to a particularly nasty run in with Congress regarding the spiralling defense budget and the congressmen who were under the influence of several prominent contractors. To give you a feel, Lockheed alone earned 325 million dollars from the air force in 1958. Their total revenues were some 926 million that year, making the US government over 1/3 of their profit base.

For the first time it looked as though the contractors and defense firms were able to influence the budgeting process.

However, this does not mean he was a liberal by any yardstick. In fact, his Presidency did not pardon the Rosenbergs (Atom bomb secret stealers) or even flinch a bit when protests were waged outside the White House. His advisors successfully warned him to stay out of Indo-China (aka Vietnam.)

Whether this decision was solely political or because the Vietnamese were not god-fearing Christians and unworthy of US intervention is open to some author's keen insights and debate.

Kennedy succumbed to that French mess for less than pure ideological reasons, not because he was a Catholic necessarily, but rather partly for the reason Ike feared, a proactive lobbyist manipulated Congress.

The Vietnam war case could be made, but Kennedy merely laid the groundwork which LBJ and his cronies fully paved.

The illusion that all defense contractors were conservatives is just that, an illusion. During WWII lots of companies run by folks identifying themselves as democrats were involved in the arming process. The conservative republican defense contractor is a Carter/Reagan era phenomenon - due to Carter's complete butchery of the nation's military readiness. This prompted a party "conversion" by most of the defense contractors who had watched their ledgers bleed red all over their offices.

Since that time - most defense contractors have been cozying up to the GOP, in hopes for contracts.

However, your belief that they are running the show and that Bush is in bed with them is erroneous. Donald Rumsfeld is the first Defense Secretary who has stood his ground against the military-industrial complex - and what thanks has he gotten?

He tried, unsuccessfully, to kill Army weapon projects that were hopelessly outdated and of little military value - soaking the taxpayers for more White Elephants like the B1B.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff - who criticizes them? The JCOS waged their own war against Rumsfeld and so far have won. Going to congress behind his back and putting payoffs over national need.

Rumsfeld is Bush's man - and not a pawn of the military industrial complex. Yet, this important battle is glossed over and ignored by the media, who are part of the problem giving refuge to these contractors and Generals because they care not a whit about fiscal responsibility - only about Trent's "alleged racially insensitive statements."

Yes, we can fear the ideologues and the "fascists," but it is much better to realize that it seems only the folks who say America deserved 9-11 and that the terrorists were the courageous folks, are the one's who see the fascists all around them.

What does that tell you about their looking glass distorted world view?

When one applies the mirror principle to their fears and paranoia - it really tells us more about their pasts and unrequited desires.

Hope your Holidays went well!

;-)

SDAI-Tech1