Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism
21 quotes
"We have the right to demand that if we find men against whom there is not only suspicion, but almost a certainty that they have had collusion with men whose interests were in conflict with the interests of the public, they shall, at least, be required to bring positive facts with which to prove there has not been such collusion; and they ought themselves to have been the first to demand such an investigation." -Teddy Roosevelt"
"She was never satisfied with anything less than perfection, but she was no grind. She was too interested in people."
"Whereas Taft discouraged the young Yale student from extracurricular reading, fearful it would detract from required courses, Roosevelt read widely yet managed to stand near the top of his class. The breath of his numerous interests allowed him to draw on knowledge across various disciplines, from zoology in philosophy and religion, from poetry and drama to history and politics."
"Why bother with fictional characters and plots when the world was full of more marvelous stories that were true, with characters so fresh, so powerful, so new, that they stepped from into the narratives under their own power?"
"The Yale graduate who had refused to read outside the course curriculum (the future Pres. Taft) suddenly found himself inspired."
"If he (Teddy Roosevelt) lacked Will Taft's immediate charisma, gradually his classmates could not resist the spell of his highly original personality."
"(Theodore) Roosevelt confessed early fascination with "girls'stories" such as Little Man and Little Women and An Old-Fashioned Girl."
"Go ahead, and fear not. You will have a full library at your service."
"(Taft's mother's) losing her firstborn had convinced her that children are treasures lent not given and that they may be recalled at any time. Parents, she firmly believed, could never love their children too much."
"I read them (articles TR wrote on his honeymoon) all over to Edith and her corrections and help were most valuable to me."
"One journalist complemented another that his article on a dispute, "had made both sides see themselves as they are."
"He (William Howard Taft) had little patience with the unconscious arrogance of conscious wealth and financial success."
"I have plenty of information now, but I can't get it into words. I'm afraid it's too big a task for me. I wonder if I will find everything in life too big for my abilities. Well, time will tell." Theodore Roosevelt, writing in naval history in his spare time while in law school"
"As soon as (Teddy Roosevelt) received an assignment for a paper or project, he would set to work, never leaving anything to the last minute. Prepared so far ahead "freed his mind" from worry and facilitated fresh, lucid thought."
"Of Teddy Roosevelt and his siblings, the author writes they were, "armed with an innate curiosity and discipline fostered by his remarkable father."
"Their lifelong love of learning, their remarkable wide-ranging intellectual curiosity, was fostered primarily by their father. He read aloud to them at night, eliciting their responses to works of history and literature. He organized amateur plays for them, encourage pursuit of special interests, prompted them to write essays on their readings, and urge them to recite poetry."
"Edith (the future Mrs. Teddy Roosevelt) developed a lifelong devotion to drama and poetry. "I have gone back to Shakespeare, as I always do," she would write seven decades later."
"As ever, books remained a medium through which Theodore and Edith connected and interpreted larger world."
"According to his habit, Theodore Roosevelt sought to harness anxiety through action."
"Theodore Roosevelt's father wrote him, "I fear for your future. We cannot stand so corrupt a government for any great length of time."
"People will love him (Theodore Roosevelt) for the enemies he has made."