doublegunshop.com - home Forums Ken Burn's Teddy R.

Don't forget that his second try at politics ( the Bull Moose Party) was a failure. What would modern day liberals say if another Republican did something like he did to Columbia to get the canal going again.
Mike

Drew, I agree we need someone of Teddy's caliber today, and there's no one in sight who could hold a candle to him. He was not without major flaws, but his virtues out-weighed his faults. His was a thorough racist and a ruthless bully against those he did not respect. But no politician today seems to care much about the poor. Some are trying to salvage the middle class but with no visible effect. Our country is run by "the interests" TR fought so hard. We have the finest government money can buy.

I agree that the Lesser Depression was caused by weak regulation. But it was also caused by Barney Frank and friends mandating home loans to unqualified borrowers and by the lending of the semi-government corporate entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Eliminate Frank's sub-prime law or the central government's participation in mortgage loans and you don't have the situation that the weak regulators failed to detect and correct.

Rich people are always over-represented in government. It is better to have them over-represented in a small weak central government than over-represented in huge powerful central government. If the gorilla weighs 200 pounds instead of 800 pounds the selection of the gorilla handler is not as critical.

I enjoy your posts too. Much to admire about the Roosevelts. Much to criticize too.

Craigd, Check your "facts".

TR was a revelation to me. My wife turned to me, said, "I didn't know he was a man of such liberal values." I said I didn't know either.

It was a time when one person could make a great difference in shaping a country. Couldn't happen today when we need them.

king: watt we need today is the kind of inspired leadership as provided by fdr and reagan...

thought sarah palin could have been the one. guess not...

dr. ben carson now comes too mind.

just finished his book,"one nation"...highly recommend it. his take on the second amendment debate is particularly interesting.

I have been wading through the latest volume of Robert Carow's LBJ biography. I have read the earlier volumes. The biography is well written. I just get so disgusted with LBJ I have to put the book down for a few months.

TR was certainly progressive, but never advocated redistribution, nor rewarding sloth and irresponsibility. He fully recognized that the rich, educated, and powerful had an advantage, but with that privilege came obligations.

"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have."
Speech at Springfield, Illinois (4 July 1903)

Can do Bill. Steer me in the right direction, and I'll fix it.

Redistribution isn't a bad word in Canada, Drew. Federal equalization grants go to provinces not doing as well as others to maintain national standards in education, health etc.

Ontario, a have-not once the country's industrial heartland, now is a beneficiary of sharing the national wealth. Oil-rich Newfoundland, once a "have-not" province, now contributes to Ontario.

Our western provinces were basket cases until until oil, potash discovered under them made them the beating heart of Canada's economy. It's all a noblesse oblige, a responsibility of privilege.

My opinion is that the US has the same responsibilities of managing a world empire. China's students are leading in science and math. Canada's educational system is near the top. US is around 25th in world rankings.

China's patents are increasing exponentially. US engineers who won the space race are retiring. China will eclipse US GDP within 20 years. Redistribution isn't without controversy but goes a long way toward greater equality.

I agree with TR's sense of noblesse oblige, "with privilege comes obligations." It's a federal policy here. Overall redistribution has been satisfactory. Sloth and irresponsibility seems to me equally distributed in societies.