What would a 1952 Douglas MacArthur presidency look like? Aside from the grandiose Caesarist style of presidential leadership (the opposite of Eisenhower's "hidden hand"), what is likely to be the substantive content of his foreign and domestic policies?
He would inherit the now unpopular Korean War first off which I'm guessing he would end. A cursory look at Wikipedia suggests that he would be averse to military interventions and the contours of his foreign policy might be akin to Eisenhower's cautious approach, especially relative to the sentiments of the top brass in the military:
"President
John F. Kennedy solicited MacArthur's counsel in 1961. The first of two meetings was held shortly after the
Bay of Pigs invasion. MacArthur was extremely critical of the military advice given to Kennedy, and cautioned the young president to avoid a U.S. military build-up in Vietnam, pointing out that domestic problems should be given a much greater priority.
[359] Shortly before his death, MacArthur gave similar advice to President
Lyndon B. Johnson.
[360]"
How would relations be with the Soviets and Western Europeans (who of course did not have the same intimate familiarity with him as they did with Ike)?
I have no clue what his domestic record would be like but given the New Deal drift of US politics, it is unlikely that MacArthur would heed the advice of Taftite conservatives and do anything to roll back the welfare state and his admin would likely hew very closely to the liberal center just as Eisenhower did (expand Social Security and build the Interstate Highways). Probably, he would also obey the dictates of the court in a Brown v Board of Education scenario and preside over modest gains in the civil rights field.
What I'm describing I guess is essentially an Eisenhower presidency but with the POTUS possessing the personalty and style of a self-aggrandizing prima donna instead of a quiet "doddering grandpa"— but stylistic differences aside, the thrust policy would remain largely the same. Is this an all right assumption? Agree or disagree?