Dallek Robert - Franklin D. Roosevelt: a political life

I n April 1945, soon after Franklin Roosevelt died, the New York Times, never an uncritical fan, declared, Men will thank God on their knees a hundred years from now, that Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House.

It was an unusual tribute to a president. As a rule, Americans are not drawn to politicians and politics but see the men and women seeking elected office as more self-serving than advocates of the public interest. In a system that puts personal gain above social reform, its little wonder that they view officeholders as primarily out for themselves. Every scandal or hint of malfeasance only deepens that conviction. Although numerous officials genuinely do work to advance the countrys well-being, all too often their efforts are lost on the public. In 2016 national cynicism expressed itself in an initial low turnout at the polls. Only 9 percent of potential voters participated in both parties primary elections. Distrust of the 2016 presidential aspirants, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, marked a surge of disgust about the parties and their chiefs that raised doubts about the genius of American politics.

In this time of demoralization, it seems well to remind Americans that the system has been capable of generating candidates for high office whose commitment to the national interest exceeded their flaws and ambitions. In 1952, for example, mindful of the publics discontent with current events, Harry Truman stood aside and Dwight Eisenhower, a man unquestionably devoted to the countrys well-being, restored confidence in democracys ability to provide a well-regarded leader. Between 1961 and 1963, John F. Kennedy struck similar notes of faith in the government. Hubert Humphrey, who lost the presidency to Richard Nixon in 1968, has won retrospective regard by refusing to blow the whistle on Nixons wrongdoing during the campaign for fear it would provoke a constitutional crisis. Sadly, Humphreys reluctance to reveal Nixons violation of the Logan Actwhich forbids a private citizens interference in diplomatic negotiationswas a measure of decency that opened the way to Nixons presidency and the Watergate crisis. Ronald Reagans Iran-contra scandal and Bill Clintons impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky affair only deepened the growing disillusionment with politics.

Few political leaders in the countrys history have commanded as much respect as Franklin D. Roosevelt, but more than seventy years after his passing, he has become a remote figure to most Americans. It seems well, then, despite the large body of fine existing biographies, histories, and documentary collections, to remind people, especially a younger generation with limited knowledge of American history, of what great presidential leadership looks like.

The central argument of this book is that Roosevelt, like his cousin Theodore, was an instinctively brilliant politician; he certainly consulted polls, after they came into vogue in the mid-thirties, but he principally relied on his feel for public mood to guide him in leading the country. I believe that my emphasis on his political judgment goes far to set my book apart from other biographies. I also revisit Roosevelts health problems and argue that his decline began earlier than customarily described.

I have no wish to suggest that Roosevelt was an unqualified success. But then, what president has been above criticism? At the close of his two terms, George Washington complained of unmerited censures of the vilest kind. And Abraham Lincoln, probably our greatest chief executive, suffered under a barrage of attacks too numerous to recount. But grounded in his conviction that he was serving the countrys best interest, he used humor to counter public hostility. Responding to assertions that he was a two-faced liar, he said, Do you think I would keep this face if I could substitute another?

Roosevelt kept his counsel on most of the criticism that dogged him through his twelve years, though in private he was anything but passive about it. He took special exception to assertions that he wished to be a dictatoran American Hitler, Mussolini, or Stalin. Yet however much he fell short in his presidency, I especially hope that revisiting the extraordinary challenges Roosevelt faced, personally and publicly, will help rekindle faith that great political leadership is not out of reach and that the countrys finest institutions he did so much to preserve remain a source of national strength.

RD

Washington, D.C.

Fall 2016

Let us here assembled constitute ourselves prophets of a new order.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, July 2, 1932

There is nothing so exciting as creating a new social order.

Eleanor Roosevelt, December 29, 1933