Obama's new 'Teddy Roosevelt' populism: Will it help in 2012?
The president tries to find his voice by channeling the progressive politics of an early 20th century GOP president
On Tuesday, President Obama issued a rousing call for a stronger government role in protecting the middle class, and a stinging rebuke of GOP-backed "trickle-down economics." The location of the speech — Osawatomie, Kan. — was no accident. In 1910, Teddy Roosevelt used a famous speech there to demand a "square deal" for average Americans and promote a "New Nationalism" that became the framework for the progressive era. Channeling Teddy and Occupy Wall Street, Obama made a moral and economic case for tackling America's rising wealth disparity. Will emulating TR's populist message help Obama win re-election?
This was an inspired choice: Apparently, Obama is "a Teddy Roosevelt nerd" just like me, says John Avlon at CNN. So surely, "the irony that a Republican president defined the progressive era is not lost" on him. In fact, it's an association Obama is "courting directly in a bid to broaden the appeal of his 2012 agenda beyond partisan lines." Roosevelt is a hero to "Republicans, Democrats, and especially independents," and invoking his ghost lets Obama cleverly "strike populist tones and sound less like a liberal social democrat."
"Why Obama is listening to Teddy Roosevelt for 2012"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Teddy lost: The trouble with the Osawatomie symbolism, at least for Obama, "is that Roosevelt, promoting those ideas, went on to lose his bid to return to the White House in 1912," says Ken Walsh at U.S. News. Instead of leading a progressive revolution, TR went down "amid charges that he was a demagogue who favored a vast over-reach in federal power." That makes this venue choice a "bad omen for Obama."
"Teddy Roosevelt a bad omen for Obama?"
Regardless, this is helping Obama find his voice: Wisely, Obama wasn't directly comparing himself to "one of America's truly great presidents," says John Cassidy at The New Yorker. He merely used Roosevelt's speech as "a convenient framing device" to lay out his own refreshingly "strong and cogent" defense of the middle class, and a devastating critique of today's GOP. Just in time for 2012, Obama "found his voice, or Teddy Roosevelt's voice," and "it was a big improvement."
"Invoking Teddy Roosevelt, Obama finds his voice"
C'mon. This vision is dated — and destructive: Obama has already absurdly claimed the mantles of "Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan," says Michael Knox Beran at National Review. But Teddy Roosevelt is actually pretty apt, since both he and Obama fought for more government. Obama, though, is "out of step with the time." In 1910, "government spending amounted to about 8 percent of GDP." Now it's 40 percent, and "the dead hand of Big Statism is destroying the economies of the West."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Congress starts clock on TikTok ban in foreign aid bill
Speed Read Lawmakers believe that the app poses a national security threat
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Pros and cons of universal health care
Pros and Cons A medical system that serves everyone comes with its own costs, and they're not only financial
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 24, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - war on the big screen, politicians on the stock market, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published