Bully!
I am about 300 pages into The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. I have always been fascinated by this guy and remember reading a young adult biography about him at the library as a boy.
But I must say, Morris has put this man’s life on paper in vivid prose and stirring narrative. This is an enjoyable read and Morris does a magnificent job in telling the story of Tweed. It won the Pulitzer Prize back in 1979 when it was originally published. And it was revised and expanded in 2001, just before the release of Theodore Rex, which is next on the reading list.
But you can’t help but feel how things have radically changed in the Republican party when you compare GOP loyalist Roosevelt – trust buster, environmentalist, determined to be independent of the party machine and reknowned for his brain, wit, energy and intelligence and compare that to the current state of the Republican party and its current leader.
Bush has said in the past that he greatly admires Roosevelt and hopes to emulate him (what modern President hasn’t said those things), but except for a short little sabre rattling war to start a new century, the comparisons cannot be made.
Not even close.