Few great americans have had their renderings prominently displayed in the oval office by admiring US presidents.
Eisenhower generally considered our best president after WWII by historians demonstrated his admiration of
Robert E Lee in that very manner.
Eisenhower defense of Lee:
Dwight D. Eisenhower in Defense of Robert E. Lee – Civil War Profiles
General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by our Nation.
He believed unswervingly in the Constitutional validity of his cause which until 1865 was still an arguable
question in America; he was a poised and inspiring leader, true to the high trust reposed in him by millions
of his fellow citizens; he was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with captured
enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle, and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle.
Through all his many trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his faith in God. Taken altogether,
he was noble as a leader and as a man, and unsullied as I read the pages of our history.
From deep conviction, I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee’s calibre would be unconquerable in spirit and
soul. Indeed, to the degree that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities, including
his devotion to this land as revealed in his painstaking efforts to help heal the Nation’s wounds once the bitter
struggle was over, we, in our own time of danger in a divided world, will be strengthened and our love of freedom sustained.'
I'll side anyday with the thoughts of the Supreme Allied Commander of World War II, five-star general, and President of the United States verse the dopey wannabe destroyers of history.
