Grover Cleveland - they don't make Democrats like him anymore:
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Cleveland was a Bourbon Democrat, an obscure and short-lived section of the Democratic Party devoted to classically liberal values like individual liberty, small government, sound money, and above all, honesty. When the New York World offered an endorsement for Cleveland’s presidential bid, they offered four reasons to vote for him. 1. He is an honest man. 2. He is an honest man. 3. He is an honest man. 4. He is an honest man.
Honesty is a rare quality in any politician, particularly in a president, but I think it’s fair to say that Cleveland did his level best to treat the American people with trust and dignity and to uphold the duties of his office as faithfully as he possibly could.
His commitment to a federal government limited in its powers came through in his willingness to veto bills that he found contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. When Congress would send him a bill he thought went too far, he would write back explaining his veto with direct reference to the Constitution. This professional conscientiousness led to Cleveland vetoing more bills than any other two-term president.
One such veto particularly illustrates Cleveland’s governing philosophy. Beset by a terrible drought, farmers in Texas were suffering from crop failure and taking tremendous financial losses. Eager to provide federal aid, Congress passed a bill that would have provided farmers with a taxpayer-funded bailout of a modest $10,000. Cleveland considered the bill carefully, then responded to Congress with the following letter:
"I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution; and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadily resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the Government, the Government should not support the people."
This is in keeping with Cleveland’s view that, “When a man in office lays out a dollar in extravagance, he acts immorally by the people.”
An examination of the life and presidency of Grover Cleveland reveals that he was a man who treated his office with respect and humility, truly regarding himself as a servant of the people rather than their master.
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