The last great president

[peternap]

A day in history when gun control wasn't discussed

    I can't imagine why this is never mentioned by the anti's, but Teddy Roosevelt, the last great President this country had, was shot during a campaign speech.

    He didn't whine about it or make passionate calls for gun control, he calmly walked back on stage and said:

    Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet - there is where the bullet went through - and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best.

   

[RIjake]

Great story.

A good President, not a great one in my opinion. 

Teddy did quite a bit to grow the government and had a Progressive leaning.  He actually went downhill in my book after he became President although he made great strides in conservation and wildlife management.

He did have big balls though!

[archimedes]

I have to agree that T.R. was once of the best.

However I'm really more fond of Marx;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8aKKF1-f-A

Now there's a president that I can get behind.

[peternap]

Oh yeah...progressive

Yes, but the progressive movement of the early 20th century was nothing like the communist progressive movement of today. The old one stopped child labor, gave women the vote, started the national parks, and broke up the trusts; all things which were needed and pro-American in principle. FAR different than what can be said about today's progressives. It's another term which has been unjustifiably co-opted by the left for disinformation purposes.

[RIjake]

Geez, no need to be a wise guy. We're on the same side here.

Early 20th century progressives like Woodrow Wilson were different than today?
Yeah, you're right, they were worse!  I'm sorry but I don't believe that the gummint's job is to solve what they consider people's problems or the problems of society by bloating themselves or by "science".  Sure, on the surface the accomplishments you list seem like good ideas. But do a little research and you'll find that most of what they did just fed the machine and contributed to the main problem we have today, almost half our people on the dole.

I'll be big enough to go back and do a little MORE research on Teddy.

[desimulacra]

 I read The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War. I had to revise my opinion on Teddy.

[MountainDon]

I read that book too. I came away with the feeling that the author had an axe to grind though. America, then as now, had/has faults just like all nations that have wielded great power. But by the standards of the day TR was a good president.