That's Rough, Rider

I don't know what prompted this sudden burst of negativity, but Teddy Roosevelt gets no respect - not from libertarians, not from paleolibertarians. Three years back, Michael McMenamin made the case that TR proved the folly of military adventures.

Comments

[Russell]

The wave of dumbed-down TR revisionism has been facilitated by the New Model Library fiends at Harvard, who under Larry Summers technocratic regime moved the entire Roosevelt stack out of the main library to languish in a depository in the boonies

Teddy we hardly knew ye!

[Tony]

TR can't even get respect from the Washington Nationals. Every night they do a presidents race between Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and TR. In 20 races before last night, the win totals stood at 6, 6, 8, and 0, respectively. No respect.

[Pro Libertate]

I like TR as a fun historical figure. He certainly doesn't measure up to my libertarian ideals for the presidency, but at least he was interesting.

If I'd had my druthers, the Devil Rays would've been called the Rough Riders in honor of TR and the Rough Riders, which were in Tampa for a while before going off to fight in Cuba. I think I've said this before, but I always thought it would be cool for the fans to say "Bully" when something good happened. I'm pretty sure the Rough Riders would've won the World Series by now, as opposed to the Rays' pathetic performance to date. Good thing I was a Braves fan first. . .wait a second, they sorta suck now, too. Grrr.

[Shannon Love]

The fact that TR did something to piss-off everyone across the length, width and breath of the political spectrum suggest to me he might have been doing something right.

Some have suggested that TR suffered from hypomania, a milder and more persistent form of the manic pole of bipolar disorder. Hypomanics are the anti-depressives. The feel energized and self-confident all the time. The seek out new ideas and latch onto them near obsessively. They have an exaggerated sense of their own ability to carry out task. They become suddenly and inappropriately angry when others don't agree with them.

TR might have projected his own exaggerated sense of competence onto the Federal government and the nation as a whole. He also seemed to latch onto the idea then wildly popular in Europe that warfare improved the moral fiber and tenor of a country. It was a dangerous combination.

[MUTT]

Excellant, thought provoking article.....damn, I might have to cough up the $ & subscribe.....