Do you approve or disapprove of the way that Douglas MacArthur is handling his job as president?

  • Approve

    Votes: 199 72.6%
  • Disapprove

    Votes: 75 27.4%

  • Total voters
    274
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This is good and all. But I want to seem some Korean politics after unification. Does democratization happen on Que has otl?
There were some speculation posts about it earlier in the TL but it seems everyone was kind of split on Rhee going despot or not. There’s no NK threat but the need to reintegrate the country and root out communist sympathizers means things could go either way. I’m in the camp that Rhee follows a similar course as OTL but moves the goalposts to say communist guerrillas and threats from China are the reason for his actions.
 
There were some speculation posts about it earlier in the TL but it seems everyone was kind of split on Rhee going despot or not. There’s no NK threat but the need to reintegrate the country and root out communist sympathizers means things could go either way. I’m in the camp that Rhee follows a similar course as OTL but moves the goalposts to say communist guerrillas and threats from China are the reason for his actions.
Are there any significant pockets of commie guerrillas in Korea?
 
i seriously doubt that Eisenhower would work for MacArthur. He had spend 7 years under him and characterized their relationship as strained. He had taken a leave of absence from the Presidency of Columbia University and I would expect him to return there.
Agree, but, aside that it would mean, in practice, like a demotion for somebody as Eisenhower and also, for its nature that would require either a politician or somebody with strong bureaucratic/diplomatic skill.
 
There were some speculation posts about it earlier in the TL but it seems everyone was kind of split on Rhee going despot or not. There’s no NK threat but the need to reintegrate the country and root out communist sympathizers means things could go either way. I’m in the camp that Rhee follows a similar course as OTL but moves the goalposts to say communist guerrillas and threats from China are the reason for his actions.
Rhee is still in power - they had an election a little after the war where Rhee banned any left-wing parties from running, so he was basically guaranteed to win. Since then Korea has been focusing on rebuilding and killing communists as part of a new purge ordered by Rhee. "To protect the country from subversive influence of the CCP" of course.

Are there any significant pockets of commie guerrillas in Korea?
Lots. Treatment is awful if you get caught as part of one.

i seriously doubt that Eisenhower would work for MacArthur. He had spend 7 years under him and characterized their relationship as strained. He had taken a leave of absence from the Presidency of Columbia University and I would expect him to return there.
I put him there as a way for Mac to say "thanks for putting me here", and its not a cabinet spot under Mac (stays subordinate to the SecState). Plus it fits Ike's skill set fairly well.
Or is there someone else you think Mac would give the spot to instead? (Not Dulles... I've got something else lined up for him already)

Ned Almond was a fool; a syncopate who was a poor division and corps commander. He had no grasp of domestic policy and was a racist.
He was probably Mac's fourth favourite person on the planet - after Jean, his son, and Willoughby. He would definitely get a top job. Plus, the Senate doesn't get a say over the Chief of Staff, so competence doesn't matter ;)

So he's overqualified for the job?
Almond's job in Tokyo amounted to "give people excuses for why they cannot see the general", and he was an expert at that.

Tell me, do amphibious tractors float? :)
Not sure, but I believe so :p

- BNC
 
I put him there as a way for Mac to say "thanks for putting me here", and its not a cabinet spot under Mac (stays subordinate to the SecState). Plus it fits Ike's skill set fairly well.
Or is there someone else you think Mac would give the spot to instead? (Not Dulles... I've got something else lined up for him already)
I do not dispute that Ike's skill set would work well. It's more along the lines of why Earl Weaver declined a $1 million dollar offer to manage the Yankees "Life is to short to work for that asshole."
He was probably Mac's fourth favourite person on the planet - after Jean, his son, and Willoughby. He would definitely get a top job. Plus, the Senate doesn't get a say over the Chief of Staff, so competence doesn't matter
Here my comment goes to competence. Almond was incompetent in the Army. MacArthur had his own competence problems; not the least of which is no familiarity with domestic politics and issues. If you think Almond screwed up in Korea I cannot wait to see him in this role. If MacArthur wanted to give him something make him Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army or Ambassador to Italy. Just get him out of the way.
 

bguy

Donor
Was going to wait until chapter 33 for this, but why not?

President - Douglas MacArthur
Vice President - Henry Cabot Lodge
SecState - Henry Luce
SecTreasury - Phil LaFollette
SecDefence - William M. Allen
Attorney General - Richard Nixon
SecCommerce - Doyle Hickey
SecLabour - Courtney Whitney
Administrator of the Federal Security Agency* - Frederick Ayer Jr
Director of Bureau of the Budget - Joseph Dodge**
CIA - Charles Willoughby
FBI - J Edgar Hoover
UN Ambassador - Dwight Eisenhower
Chief of Staff - Ned Almond
Press Secretary - Pat Echols
Special Advisor*** - Herbert Hoover

Cabinet list looks pretty good. One minor change I would recommend is Robert E. Wood as Secretary of Commerce instead of Doyle Hickey. Hickey doesn't really seem to have much in the way of business experience, so he would be a hard sale for that position whereas Wood was one of the nation's top corporate executives (IOTL he was serving as the Chairman of the Board of Sears and Roebeck as of 1952.) Wood was also a former military man (a West Point graduate who served in the 42nd Division in World War 1), a leading conservative Republican and a long time personal friend of MacArthur who had supported MacArthur for president in both 1944 and 1948, so he would seem a natural for inclusion in MacArthur's cabinet.
 
I do not dispute that Ike's skill set would work well. It's more along the lines of why Earl Weaver declined a $1 million dollar offer to manage the Yankees "Life is to short to work for that asshole."
From the MacArthur biographies I've read, their relationship wasn't that bad. It mostly seems like Eisenhower thought Mac was an ass, but Mac seemed to like Ike pretty well. In fact according to the bio by Arthur Herman, MacArthur seemed to have a pretty good deal of respect for Ike, going so far as to encourage him to run for president when Ike visited Tokyo after the war. Which actually might be a bit of an understatement, as the exact quote from the book is that ike later said that "it was all he could talk about, from after dinner until 1 am". So Mac definitely thought highly enough of him to offer him the job, now the question is just whether or not he'd take it. Judging by the other things he said about Mac, I believe Ike would take the job. He didn't seem to hate him, just to think he was an arrogant asshole. Which he was. Theres also a quote Ive heard which I admittedly can't find right now where Ike says something to the effect of "MacArthur is an ass to work for, but if he walked into the room right now and said he needed my help, I'd go with him immediately"

Edit: found the quote

"Yet, if that door opened at this moment, and General MacArthur was standing there, and he said 'Ike, follow me,' I'd get up and follow him."
 
Just get him out of the way.
Why would Mac want to get rid of his Ass-Kisser-in-Chief?

Cabinet list looks pretty good. One minor change I would recommend is Robert E. Wood as Secretary of Commerce instead of Doyle Hickey. Hickey doesn't really seem to have much in the way of business experience, so he would be a hard sale for that position whereas Wood was one of the nation's top corporate executives (IOTL he was serving as the Chairman of the Board of Sears and Roebeck as of 1952.) Wood was also a former military man (a West Point graduate who served in the 42nd Division in World War 1), a leading conservative Republican and a long time personal friend of MacArthur who had supported MacArthur for president in both 1944 and 1948, so he would seem a natural for inclusion in MacArthur's cabinet.
Excellent suggestion, thanks! I'll swap him into the list. (Wood had been in my notes at one point but must have gotten lost so I forgot about him, but yeah couldn't agree more)

- BNC
 
I just remembered to this Puerto Rican former Marine General, that even if in these times (IIRC) was politically irrelevant (thankfully)… But, perhaps given TTL Mac's campaign and later Presidency, perhaps he and/or the political group/organization that he formed, would ITTL get an unexpected political relevancy.
Of course, that would be possible that if he get involved, even at the State/local level in the Campaign, as would seem probable, that it'd have had butterflied away the group that he founded along with some (seemingly), like minded US (former) high officers.
But if not... Would have been possible that ITTL, could have have had they an political relevance and/or get political connections that were they unable to reach in OTL?
Or their and particularly, his most extreme political views (even, for the usual in these years) and conspiracy beliefs (''very surprising and unpatriotic utterances"), would have had the same effect that in OTL, and effectively 'd 'be cause (even in a MacArthur's administration) to politically marginalise him?
 
I just remembered to this Puerto Rican former Marine General, that even if in these times (IIRC) was politically irrelevant (thankfully)… But, perhaps given TTL Mac's campaign and later Presidency, perhaps he and/or the political group/organization that he formed, would ITTL get an unexpected political relevancy.
Of course, that would be possible that if he get involved, even at the State/local level in the Campaign, as would seem probable, that it'd have had butterflied away the group that he founded along with some (seemingly), like minded US (former) high officers.
But if not... Would have been possible that ITTL, could have have had they an political relevance and/or get political connections that were they unable to reach in OTL?
Or their and particularly, his most extreme political views (even, for the usual in these years) and conspiracy beliefs (''very surprising and unpatriotic utterances"), would have had the same effect that in OTL, and effectively 'd 'be cause (even in a MacArthur's administration) to politically marginalise him?
Read through the page you linked, not seeing the connection to Mac? He didn't fight in Mac’s sector...

- BNC
 
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