T.R. Envy

Gene Healy at CATO's sums up my thoughts on President Teddy:

T.R.’s enduring appeal is an enduring mystery. What, after all, is so attractive about Roosevelt’s political philosophy, such as it was: a loudmouthed cult of maniliness; a warped belief that war can be a good tonic for whatever ails the national spirit; and a contemptuous attitude toward limits on presidential power?

I have never understood the Republican deification of Theodore Roosevelt. Lincoln I can understand, Reagan, check. But, trust-busting, empire-forging, tax-proliferating T.R.? What gives?? But, on second thought, Healy's characterizations sounds a whole lot Dubya, huh? Very interesting...