Monday, August 13, 2007

Presidential Note

Just saw a story on the presidential candidates' (both parties) penchant for evoking Teddy Roosevelt's policies in their rhetoric.

Question: Which do you think will be first to support hunting rats with terriers in the White House basement, or coursing coyotes with greyhounds in Yellowstone?

3 comments:

PBurns said...

Teddy Roosevelt was a great hunter, a great conservationist, and a foreign policy mad man. In short, he is a perfect foil for either party.

He is also one of two terriermen on Mount Rushmore. I might have to blog on that, LOL.

Patrick

Matt Mullenix said...

You might have mentioned "engaging writer" also. I have several of his compilations, and they are brisk, thoughtful reads full of natural history, humor and human interest. He could easily have had a successful career as a journalist.

Anonymous said...

TR has always been my great hero, but I've learned that the real man was a bit different than the public image that has come down.
More shrewd than loud.

It's funny that liberals don't like to group TR with Eleanor and Franklin because of his strident Americanism. But there's definitely a direct line in political outlook. TR wanted Big Government to counter Big Business - two parts of the New Deal troika. No Reaganite.

I still admire his approach to living. Born to extreme wealth but hit with early deaths of father, mother and first wife that forced him to develop a hard philosophy of giving life everything he had - spend and be spent.