even though at the peak of his power as a general, he not only commanded millions of men in battle, but dealt as an equal with churchill, with stalin, with de gaulle. but there was something about ike, a kind of friendly, honest, decent sense of respect for people that made people, however different they were and however high up they were, to instantly like ike. i found that he was a fascinating man to read about and write about. i would like to have known him. >> you say jimmy carter and ronald reagan and richard nixon, what would happen if you put those three men and eisenhower, general eisenhower, at a table, those four men, and you're at the table, how would they interact with one another, based on what you know? >> well, of course, richard nixon had ample opportunity to react to eisenhower because for eight years he was eisenhower's vice president. >> but, i mean from what you personally know, how two these men interact, would they get along, would they like each other? they almost all came from a small town. >> well, i don't know whether they'd like each other. i'm skeptical of the notion that richard nixon liked jimmy carter or that jimmy c