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

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
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."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
6 thrilling reads chosen by Ken Follett
Feature The historical novelist suggests works by Frank Herbert, Charles Dickens and more
By The Week Staff Published
-
Dress-down democracy
Feature What we lose when we shun suits and ties
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Recipe: chicken and ricotta meatballs in broth by Julius Roberts
The Week Recommends A warming soup for autumnal evenings with orzo, crème fraîche and dill
By The Week Staff Published
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Will the cannabis banking bill get the Senate's green light?
Talking Point The SAFER Banking Act is advancing to the US Senate for the first time, clearing a major hurdle for legal cannabis businesses. Does it stand a chance?
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries chosen to succeed Pelosi as leader of House Democrats
Speed Read
By Brigid Kennedy Published
-
GOP leader Kevin McCarthy's bid for House speaker may really be in peril
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Are China's protests a real threat for Beijing?
opinion The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web
By Harold Maass Published
-
Who is Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist who dined with Trump and Kanye?
Speed Read From Charlottesville to Mar-a-Lago in just five years
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Jury convicts Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, Kelly Meggs of seditious conspiracy in landmark Jan. 6 verdict
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published