Ike prided himself on being a progressive Republican, but more importantly a moderate progressive Republican. While he was popular with a majority of the American people, he had to deal with criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. Depending on your politics, he either wasn't progressive enough, or he'd sold out the Republican party to the New Dealers.

Unsurprisingly, he thought moderate and reasonable compromise in making policy was a good idea. This perspective had probably never been as important as it was during the fifties, when the country was hurtling into a new era, a new economic status-quo, and a new military age. The 1960s rightfully have a reputation as the decade of change, but on closer inspection, the '50s were just as filled with radical change.

Ike saw potential threats everywhere, which is why he advocated a position of balance in all things:

But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs-balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage-balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between action of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration. (III. 13-14)

We count seven balances in two sentences. We're gonna go ahead and take that as a clue that Ike thinks balance is a somewhat important principle to keep in mind.