Dwight D. Eisenhower was a decent president--not the best, not the worst.

* Dwight D. Eisenhower was a decent president--not the best, not the worst. And he was undoubtedly an admirable, patriotic man. But we wonder about the propriety of erecting a monument to him on the Mall. One has been planned, and will almost certainly reach Congress for approval. Almost certainly, Congress will approve. Then Ike will join Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and FDR. But isn't the Mall getting a little crowded? How generous should standards be for entry? Kennedy lovers will plump for JFK, Great Society enthusiasts for LBJ. Nixon probably won't have much of a movement behind him. We can think of a few people (ahem) who would welcome a monument to Reagan. But we should add such things cautiously and soberly, lest they lose their meaning--and lest the absence of a monument on the Mall become something like an insult.