Congress may finally be ready to put the kibosh on the misfire of a design for a memorial to Dwight Eisenhower.
Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who chairs the House Natural Resources subcommittee on national parks, forests and public lands, has introduced a bill that would mandate an alternative to the long-controversial plan.
Certainly, if anyone deserves a memorial on the National Mall, it’s Eisenhower.
His military achievements alone are legendary: Supreme Allied Commander in World War II and first commander of NATO.
As America’s 34th president, he ended the war in Korea, confronted Soviet aggression, built the national highway system, began the US space program and sent troops to Little Rock to enforce racial integration.
So why would Frank Gehry make the central theme of his design Eisenhower’s description of himself as “a barefoot boy from Kansas”? That’s like replacing the Lincoln Memorial with a log cabin.
The Eisenhower family has long objected to the design. The objections include the additions meant to appease the family, such as the 80-foot metal tapestries depicting some of Ike’s actual achievements. An Eisenhower granddaughter has compared them to the ugly designs long seen in communist countries.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar placed a hold on the plan, and Congress has zeroed out construction funding through September. Now Rep. Bishop wants to order the project to come up with a new design.
It’s the right move. This project has been planned since 1999 but remains stalled. Getting it done is important. But it’s not as important as getting it right.