Author: Teddy Roosevelt Should Be Celebrated By Conservatives
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Author of the new book, Theodore The Great: Conservative Crusader, Daniel Ruddy says President Theodore Roosevelt should be championed by conservatives in America and rejects a long run of criticism against the nation's 26th President from right wing pundits.
Ruddy, during an interview with Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, stated that, of the President's on Mount Rushmore, only Roosevelt is the subject of political debates.
"Teddy Roosevelt is the one of the four that still is controversial and both sides try to claim him and there's arguments on both the conservative and progressive side. My book is about reclaiming Roosevelt's legacy because Teddy Roosevelt has really been under assault in the last decade, surprisingly, from the right, not the left. Most of his critics are libertarians."
He disagrees with those critics and insists Roosevelt's record is one that should be embraced.
"He belongs to all Americans. He wasn't perfect and he made mistakes, as all politicians do but his heart was in the right place and he really was a great patriot and great American. I've spent ten years researching his life and I am just blown away by what an amazing man he was, what a great American and I think he deserves his place on Mount Rushmore."
Ruddy thinks that while Roosevelt had a lot in common with this year's Republican nominee, Donald Trump, he doubts Roosevelt would agree with Trump's campaign agenda.
"He'd have mixed feelings about Trump. There's a lot of overlap between both of them. Both were brash New Yorkers. Very outspoken. Not politically correct. Teddy Roosevelt was very famous for just speaking his mind openly and not mincing words. Trump is like that. Trump is a great nationalist, just like Teddy was. Trump likes to show his strength. Muscle flexing, that was what Teddy Roosevelt was about. But Teddy Roosevelt was also a great diplomat in terms of foreign policy. He really brought the United States on to the global stage at the beginning of the 20th Century in a way that no President had ever done before. I think he might not approve of some of Trump's policies, like, in terms of withdrawing from the world."
