Reading "Eisenhower, The White House Years"

First, democracy means mass propaganda.

Mass propaganda means money.

Democracy means money.

So, the age of powerful conventions choosing nominees in smoke-filled rooms was less corrupt, less plutocratic, than the age of primaries, the age of the money primary.

Second, IKE chose to keep the peace in Europe by refusing the development of tactical nukes and insisting America would defend Europe, even silly little Berlin, with strategic, global thermonuclear war.

That is, he thought he would save Berlin by letting Berlin hide behind Chicago.

That is a terrifying fact of history, only a little muted by the realization that neither Stalin nor anyone after him had all that much reason to care about Berlin, much less points west.

Stalin wanted a buffer and his troops had already occupied Eastern Europe and much of Germany. 

And after all that Hitler had done to Russia he had to punish Germany.

He took the low-hanging fruit.

But that was quite enough.

In Europe.