50 years ago tonight was the most important speech in American history
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50 years ago tonight was the most important speech in American history
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
-- President Dwight Eisenhower, Jan. 17, 1961.
It's quite the week for honoring great political speeches. This week, you're going to hear a lot about three speeches. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech -- re-broadcast frquently today as the nation celebrates King's 82nd birthday, is arguably the greatest, at least in modern times. On Thursday, there will be much discussion and celebration of the 50th anniversay of President John F. Kennedy's soaring and lyrical inauguration address, from Jan. 20, 1961.
What a time that was! Just three days prior to JFK, the outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower delivered his farewell address -- not the greatest, not the most lyrical, but simply the most important, in my opinion. For eight years, Eisenhower had watched the defense budget, the newish CIA and the other tools of the post World War II national security state explode -- often with his (apparently reluctant) approval. Now, alarmed at the potential monster that has been created largely under his watch, he went before the American people with a warning that was so remarkable and so shocking that the contemporary media and public had a hard time handling it.
It was only after Eisenhower left the White House that the nation was able to grasp all the specifics of the 34th president's broad warning -- stretching from the fiasco at the Bay of Pigs to the blood-soaked tropics of Vietnam, and quite possibly including Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, and all the unrest that followed those events, sowing the seeds of division in America that exists to this very day. The fact that most citizens didn't listen and the few who did were powerless to stop the train wreck does nothing to dimimish the political courage that Eisenhower displayed exactly 50 years ago tonight. A half-century later, the absense of such brutal candor from our political leaders is something palpable.
Comment removed.- Swifty, there's no question that Oswald wanted JFK dead, and he made no secret about his commie sympathies. Whether he could hurt a fly is debatable. He was a lousy marksman as a Marine and was even court-martialed for shooting himself. He was the perfect patsy.
Ike was a tea partier?— Mr. Smith
I would not put the Kennedy Inaugural in my Top 3. In order of importance, I would put:
1. Lincoln's Inaugural Speech (There are many which could all be top 5)
2. (tie). FDR's speech to Congress after Pearl Harbor
2. GW Bush's address from the Oval Office on Sept 11, 2001.
Good point Col. Jessup.
I would also have to add in my top 10:
4. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech.
5. Nixon's "I Am Not A Crook" speech.
6. Reagan's "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do.” speech.
7. Reagan's “A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?” speech.
8. Bush's "Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons. We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have." speech.
9. Richard Nixon's "Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow." speech.
10. Richard Nixon's "Checkers Speech."— Talking point sleuth
"..the absense of such brutal candor from our political leaders is something palpable." Probably because it gets you accused of racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism (see Will's last Glenn Beck post), or being an accessory to murder.— jmc- Don't forget Clinton's "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" speech.— palmyra21
- Little Willie has a strange set of standards for speeches. Eisenhower was warning about growth of large government, which at that time was represented by the military industrial complex. In 1961, it represented nearly 80% of the federal budget. Now, the military industrial complex is a bit player, only about 13% of the federal budget. The massive federal programs are the enemy, not dominated by liberal socialism. Little Willie would not get it.— Dutch-wayne
- How about that Obama speech without a teleprompter...pure gold— Joe Funk
///most important speech in American history/// This shows either a willful ignorance of history or an astounding attempt at hyperbole. The Eisenhower speech became important years after it was given because of what it warned of, but at the time it did not cause much of a bump in historical context.
Most important speeches in American history? I would think MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech would be up there, the aforementioned FDR speech to Congress post-Pearl Harbor, asking to declare war on Japan, James Monroe's State of the Nation Address, Proclaiming the Monroe Doctrine, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, JFK's inaugural, I mean the list could go on and on. Eisenhower's wouldn't rate in the top 50.- Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was not thought of as a great one at the time either.
Eisenhower's farewell speech was echoed by Truman on the CIA a couple of years later. These two men both unwittingly created a monster and tried to warn the country about it.— Hamlet - //Eisenhower's farewell speech was echoed by Truman on the CIA a couple of years later. //
Really? Truman came before Eisenhower. Or are you talking about a speech he gave after leaving the White House? - Dutchie.
You make a good point, but where do you get your numbers? I read that military spending in 2009 was 23% of the federal budget. As a % of GDP - it is about 1/2 of what it was in 1961 (around 4%, and 9%, respectively).
And inflation adjusted) per capita defense spending has gone up slightly since 1961.
And currently, US military spending is 8 x that of the second largest spender. How does that compare to 1961?— Talking point sleuth - Oh - and US military spending makes up about 47% of the total world military spending. How does that compare to 1961?— Talking point sleuth
Dont know a huge ammount about oswald but from what I have seen on tv about the JFK assasination he had to be a brilliant shot to get those rounds of at a moving target in that space of time at that range over iron sights was truly remarkable, the British army is renowned for its marksmanship , and I served with some incredibly gifted marksmen, it would take somebody very special to acheive those hits.— PAEnglish- It can be done, and it has been proven time and time again that Oswald, and the weapon he used, were both more than capable of making those shots.
Anyone who still thinks Oswald was not acting alone is misinformed. 
"Oh my sides"
"Mommy mommy"
"Arts"
"Bwaack"
No need to post anymore TPS- got it covered.- Right- Where I Tommy Teleprompter on this list?
"Um, umm, eh, We have decided to um, eh, um."
Teleprompter breakdown - Comment removed.
- Listening to Eisenhower give that speech reminds me of a Leonard Cohen son:
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
— Hamlet - "Truman came before Eisenhower." Truman created the CIA, Eisenhower made JF Dulles Sec State and Allen Dulles DCI and saw the helped with the birth of the MIC, for which he spoke. Truman wrote a syndicated article about the CIA in 1963 denouncing the thing he helped create (I believe he called it a "Monster"). History lesson over.— Hamlet
- Comment removed.
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