RIP FDR

[rug]

January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945

[Captain Hilts]

1. "The most selfish, self-centered man who ever sat in the chair." And the greatest.

Eleanor's response to that comment was, "yeah, well, you have to be if you are president."

They weren't always old - ER was 49 and FDR 51:

[whathehell]

3. Who called him "the most selfish, self-centered man who ever sat in the chair"?

[Captain Hilts]

5. A Dem official a year or so after FDR died. He said it to Eleanor

and, having had to deal with both TR and FDR, she knew that was part of the game. I can't think of the guy's name at the moment.

But he's not the only one who thought this. Clementine Churchill, of all people, thought FDR totally selfish and self-centered, and she was used to Winston who was batshit crazy. Dean Acheson said pretty much the same thing. FDR's habit - like George W. Bush - of calling people by their first names or stupid nicknames while they had to call him "Mr. Prez" was grating on many people.

[whathehell]

18. Thanks for the information.

This "habit" seems like a minor annoyance, all things considered. I do believe this would be the ONLY thing he might have had in common with Dubya...Gawwdd.:eyes:

[Captain Hilts]

21. I've got a wall of FDR/New Deal books and don't have the time to hunt for it.

Tough shit.

[whathehell]

26. Well, "tough shit" to you, too...

although I have NO idea why you're bitching at me....Are you trying to tell us that because of one shitty little habit this man is actually comparable to GWB?....You may as well say they both ate breakfast.

[Captain Hilts]

30. Your sarcastic comment generated it. Have a nice day!

[whathehell]

40. You sound delusional......Have a nice day!

[whathehell]

28. A bit "out of sorts" today, are we?

You must be because my "thank you" was sincere.

Please chill or take your nasty mood out on someone else.

[Octafish]

4. Great President -- a real Democrat.

Fearless. Hard working. Brilliant.

Just the man the nation needed to lead us to victory in World War II and the Depression.

[Captain Hilts]

6. The Greatest. But he was AWOL on the anti-lynching bill. nt

[Odin2005]

7. You almost have to have a certain amount of ego to get to the Presidency.

[Captain Hilts]

10. Yes. You don't get there without a minimum amount

of arrogance. And Eleanor understood that and was not offended by the comment.

[dajoki]

12. Thank you, K&R n/t

[joe black]

14. The original "Dude".

We sure could use him now.

[Captain Hilts]

15. The man wore a pinky ring. I think that says it all. He was a dude and didn't pretend otherwise.nt

[whathehell]

2. Happy Birthday, Mr. President...

Franklin D. Roosevelt: Third Best president in U.S. History, according to national historians. The finest in living memory

George W. Bush: Named by same historians as Third Worst president in U.S. History, worst in living memory!

[GoCubsGo]

9. Ummmm....look at the dates again.

They are just below the photo. :-)

[whathehell]

23. Ummmmmm....You might want to read them..

There are still living WWII Vets, not to mention those too young at the time to enter military.;-)

[whathehell]

20. self delet

self-delete.

[Odin2005]

8. dupe

[Froward69]

11. "Traitor to his class"

:patriot::patriot::patriot::patriot:

[Selatius]

13. He was a hero of the working class. We could sure use another one of those today. nt

[whathehell]

24. +1000

[bvar22]

16. Thank You, FDR.

"We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.”<2> People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

*The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

*The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

*The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

*The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

*The right of every family to a decent home;

*The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

*The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

*The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world.--FDR

Wouldn't THAT make a great platform for today's "Democratic" Party?

And THIS!

"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace: business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.

They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.

Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me – and I welcome their hatred."--FDR

THAT is the Democratic Party I joined 42 years ago.
I miss THAT Democratic Party.
Thank You, FDR, for defining what a DEMOCRAT should STAND for.


The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[Faygo Kid]

27. I stand with you. That is what DU is all about.

Thank you for your post.

[Captain Hilts]

31. I'll thank Eleanor too. nt

[Dr Morbius]

17. I've heard a story, perhaps apocryphal, that Harry Truman...

...said of FDR that he "...never gave a rat's ___ about any human being who ever lived. But he was a great President."

FDR was an inveterate liar. He was a womanizer until he got polio. In his twenties he went out drinking all night with a wife and kid at home. Financially, he needed his mother to bail him out again and again.

But he was easily one of the greatest Presidents in history. It's no accident that the United States emerged from WWII as the preeminent global power in economics and military matters; that's thanks to FDR, who recognized that it was Britain, not the Soviets, who stood between America and global power. FDR gave us the UN, which for all its flaws has performed the function for which it was intended: no wars directly between major powers has since occurred. He was a superb judge of talent and a gifted motivator. When he died he was listed among the nation's "war dead" and treated like a war hero. And he fought the powers-that-be for the little guy.

He probably wasn't a good man, but he was a great man, and a great President.

[Captain Hilts]

22. Well said. Some have noted that the same traits that made him a lousy husband/father helped make him

a great president.

[whathehell]

29. Harry had his detractors, too...

He worked for quite a while for a very corrupt politician named Prendergast who dealt in, among other things, prostitution. An article which appeared in a 1976 edition of Esquire called "I'm Not Wild About Harry" claimed he was prone to humiliating underlings when angry.

[Captain Hilts]

32. Wasn't Pendergast also in the KKK? I think so. nt

[whathehell]

41. Ask someone you don't misread as "sarcastic"....Have a nice day.

[Grand Taurean]

19. A great man for the good of the country

despite his personal flaws.

[Faygo Kid]

25. "For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government."

". . . For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent.

For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.

We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace‹business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.

They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.

Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me, and I welcome their hatred.

I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master. . ."

[okie]

33. We should look at FDR very critically

He's an interesting figure. He came from a very well-off, 'old money' kind of family which gave him the freedom to harshly condemn other sectors of the ruling class. You don't see much of that today. While he is revered by American liberals, I think it's important to keep in mind that FDR still represents aspects of America's legacy most of us are probably uncomfortable with. In a lot of ways - his mass appeal, for instance - he was one of our most effective imperialists.

As Asst. Sec. of the Navy he played an important role in empire building in Latin America and Haiti (also getting a Congressional Medal of Honor for Smedley Butler for killing hundreds of Haitians fighting for independence). He said while campaigning for VP in 1920, "I have had something to do with the running of a couple of little republics. The facts are that I wrote Haiti’s constitution myself, and, if I do say it, I think it a pretty good constitution." He was exaggerating, but you get the point.

He also stirred up a lot of fear around the time of WWI in order to massively increase the size of the US Navy and press for national service. He called war with Germany, "another American war for independence."

I also strongly disagree with the idea that the New Deal represents a victory for working people over big business. It's exactly the opposite. The reforms protected large, influential sectors of the business community and allowed them to absorb threatening parts of the labor movement (through the Wagner Act, for example). Even the Social Security Act was heavily endorsed by a business advocacy group headed by the president of General Electric (of course, they couldn't have the rich being taxed to pay for the program). I'm very skeptical of such 'victories', especially when they occur during a decade of harsh depression that only ended because of a global war. Those of us on the left should regard the FDR years as a tremendous failure.

Then, of course, there's the injustice done to Japanese Americans during his tenure.

[Captain Hilts]

37. In some ways, he was a man of his time. In other ways, ahead of his time. nt

[okie]

39. Yes

But then, isn't everyone a 'man of his time'? What do we mean when we say that? Is it just a deflection?

It certainly isn't surprising that an aristocrat in the early 20th century would play an active role in empire-building. But I'm not really criticizing FDR for doing that. I'm saying that if FDR represents the best of the American liberal tradition (which seems to be a common sentiment), is that really a good thing? Maybe there's something inherently rotten if FDR is our best example.

[LeftishBrit]

34. RIP

[Uncle Joe]

35. The Greatest President of the 20 century and a good man on a macro level,

using the power of government to lift up and the lighten the burden of the most downtrodden.

His oligarch peers believed him to be a "traitor to his class."

RIP FDR and thank you for your service.:patriot:

Thanks for the thread, rug.:thumbsup:

[Captain Hilts]

36. Yep, FDR was The Best. nt

[fascisthunter]

38. Indeed... A Great American!

one that gave a shit about people regardless their points of view. Since then, the GOP has been the antithesis, and it shows.

[amborin]

42. K&R

[UTUSN]

43. K&R for, If ANYbody is resting in peace, HE is!1 Nothing disturbs him. n/t