Charlie Rose

REMant  04/21/2010 01:37 PM Report

Well, I certainly think a lot less of FDR than he does, but I see no reason why NYC should take a back seat to DC in the monument business, tho I am not sure what good this will do 3rd Freedom-wise. The plan certainly looks no worse than any in the nation's capitol, for instance, the WWII memorial. Everyone in the early 30's, I think, agreed with the assessment of Walter Lippmann: "He is a pleasant man, who, without any important qualifications for the office, would very much like to be President." So much so, that unlike any other president in US history, he ran four times, necessitating a constitutional amendment to keep it from happening again, and without either ending the Depression or securing peace. He had backed Hoover for president, and later followed his policies, yet ran on a populist platform and refused to help him during the lame duck period when it was vital. People were convinced for a long time, and no doubt some still are, that he maneuvered the country into the war. They must have had some reason for believing that. Of his Court-packing plan a congressman said: "This is more power than a good man should want, or a bad man should have." That Ronald Reagan voted for him all four times can certainly be no recommendation. BTW, the Depression came about as a direct result of WWI and its settlement, as well as, an overweening righteousness concerning America and its liberal philosophy, all having far less to do with the GOP than with Woodrow Wilson. We might have been a lot better off with the five-cent cigar.