Lol! Such high praise for an argumentative postman. Alas, I wish my stock selections reflected my being wily....
I just finished reading a fascinating book on FDR's Presidency, The New Dealer's War, Thomas Fleming. It gives you a front row seat to the domestic political maneuverings leading into WWII, including the New Dealers attempt to politicize the war effort.
I really think that FDR most closely resembles Bill Clinton, albeit without the white trash entertainment value. FDR was the hero of the ideological left, he surrounded himself with socialistic advisors, he demonized business, and attempted to gain political control of the economy. His essence was a love of political power.
He ended up making compromises with big business and "reactionary" politicians, to the dismay of his devotees, in order to gain and keep his personal power. He had little regard for the restrictions upon political power built into the Constitution, witness his Court packing scheme, and he would have been very happy being President For Life- which of course, he was. Thank God for the 22nd Amendment.
Eleanor was far more of a leftist zealot than FDR was, and although quite stupid in her own way, had that nails-on-the-chalkboard effect on the male populace that we see in Hillary Clinton. And getting to know Vice President Henry Wallace will make you convinced that God must have intervened to save the United States with Harry Truman. Well, really it was the anti-New Deal Democrat politicians, who hated Wallace with a passion, and might have staged a coup d'etat if he had taken office upon FDR's death. All in all an excellent book. |
