The sense of prosperity and national serenity that exudes from this 1955 cover portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower was the visual summation of the feature cover story. After seeing the cover, reading the article was almost unnecessary. During the twenty-nine months Eisenhower had been president, Time reported, America had settled into a period marked by low inflation, high employment, rising capital investment, and a bullish stock market. The nation's health could not have been better, and the magazine saw Eisenhower's conservative presidential leadership as a catalyst for the good times. Time's glowing assessment of Eisenhower's performance was largely based on reality, yet it also reflected the views of the magazine's founder, Henry Luce, an ardent Eisenhower supporter who did not hesitate to foster a pro-Ike slant.
