QUESTION: What was unusual about the bottom drawer of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s desk?
ANSWER: It was filled with crumpled up pieces of paper containing the names of people who annoyed him.
Of his four brothers, the future President had the worst temper. Anger possessed him and he would “blaze for an hour.” Fortunately, even as a child he realized the need to control his emotions.
His mother told him “Hating was a futile sort of thing. The person who had incurred my displeasure probably didn’t care, possibly didn’t even know, and the only person injured was myself.”
Anger management would always be a struggle for Eisenhower, and he remained sensitive to criticism.
Ike knew bouts of blind rage would prevent him from becoming an effective leader: they wasted his time and clouded his judgment. “Anger cannot win, it cannot even think clearly,” he said.
He developed the following method for controlling his anger towards others:
“To this day I make it a practice to avoid hating anyone. If someone’s been guilty of despicable actions, especially towards me, I try to forget him.
“I followed a practice –somewhat contrived, I admit– to write the man’s name on a piece of paper, drop it into the lowest drawer of my desk, and say to myself: ‘That finishes the incident, and so far as I’m concerned, that fellow.’
“The drawer became over the years a sort of private wastebasket for crumbled-up spite and discarded personalities.
“Besides, it seemed to be effective and helped me avoid useless black feelings. The device applied, of course, to things purely personal. During World War II, there was no question of the deep-seated hatred I felt for Hitler and all that he stood for. But there were ways to deal with him other than the drawer.”
The story is told in: “Eisenhower: Soldier and President” by Stephen E. Ambrose
Republican Security Council 