FDR Speaks Out On Republican Attacks

[appalachiablue]

On September 23, 1944, during a campaign dinner with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a reference to his small dog, Fala, who had recently been the subject of a Republican political attack. The offense prompted Roosevelt to defend his dog’s honor and his own reputation...

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-defends-his-dog

[Karadeniz]

1. Love him....Roosevelt, too!

[appalachiablue]

2. Political genius, the very best in times of major distress

[bucolic_frolic]

3. We would have a different world today had a few things broken in another direction

Had FDR given up smoking and drinking - a little personal discipline.

If they had modern blood pressure medications back then - even the stuff they had by the early 1980s.

I'll put in my usual plug on FDR biographies.

Jean Edward Smith - he finds obscure material and weaves it into a delightful whole of personality.

Robert Dallek - FDR: A Political Life - combs the paper trail of FDR's political decision-making from contemporary records.

And the trilogy that lit the lamp for me because it illuminates the war period from diaries and papers of those closest to FDR during that time period - the generals, cabinet secretaries, and family - cousin Daisy: Nigel Hamilton's "Mantle of Command", "Commander in Chief: FDR's Battle with Churchill", and "War and Peace: FDR's Final Odyssey: D-Day to Yalta, 1943–1945."

As Hamilton explains in interviews, FDR couldn't write his history of the war as Churchill did, because he died in office. Hamilton shows through records how FDR micromanaged everything, from Doolittle's raid on Japan to manufacture of landing craft and mini-battles in North Africa to harden the troops. He held decision-making to himself, even with Churchill. Highly recommended. If you want to understand the geopolitical world and our politics today, this is the place to start.

[appalachiablue]

4. With all FDR did for this country and the free world,

the enormous responsibility he bore given his position and this is what you find to criticize, seriously?

The democratic, elected leader of 1933 who led us through the darkest years of the Great Depression, passed milestone progressive legislation and guided us through the Second World War to defeat fascsim.

The 4 term president who was dead six months after this charming, clever speech about Fala and Republican attacks.

What 'personal discipline', what else would be different? Roosevelt was paralysed, he couldn't walk and was disabled. Under that much stress and the American president is faulted because he didn't abstain from alcohol and tobacco. To what, become a fitness coach?

[bucolic_frolic]

7. And I take 20 minutes of my time to post details about historians' FDR books

with much googling, copying and pasting, and you only read the first sentence? Yes we know more about nutrition today, and the effects of smoking, and we have far better medicines. His doctors were not overly candid with him, it's true, nor with the public, a great percentage of people smoked back then, but a little moderation is never a bad thing.

[thucythucy]

8. From my reading of the history

I seem to recall that FDR did try to cut down on his smoking and his drinking.

He also, sadly, followed his doctors' orders and gave up on his daily swim. The medical consensus then was that this put too much strain on his heart. In fact, besides being great exercise, it also helped lower his stress rate (which went up significantly after he cut down on tobacco and alcohol).

Having grown up in the disability rights movement, I've seen many of our leaders die at an early age, particularly folks who were survivors of polio and spinal cord injury. Ed Roberts and Irv Zola didn't smoke at all, and i don't recall them ever drinking to excess (at least not after college). Justin Dart abstained from both (Gandhi was his hero). All three didn't make it past their early or mid sixties.

All that said, the correspondence between FDR and Churchill (thousands of messages over the course of six years or so) makes for an amazing read. The current pResident no doubt couldn't even read at that level, much less write.

It'll be such a relief to have a president who has and respects literacy, and also, as per this video, has a sense of humor.

[AdamGG]

5. I guess Nixon was copying this a bit with his Checkers speech

Nixon was a felon and an asshole, but politically astute.

[KS Toronado]

6. If I remember correctly the story of being left behind on the Aleutian Islands was false.

Appears old habits never die with republiCONs