A Book Review

Political beings, as a whole, are generally outgoing souls, with a long retinue of friends, ranging from pleasant how-ya-doin’ acquaintances to long-standing trusted companions. Presidents, at the top of the political pecking order, are no exception.

Author Mike Purdy, political analyst and historian, has chosen wisely. In PRESIDENTIAL FRIENDSHIPS: How They Changed History, like good wine with a good meal, he has winnowed the mix down to two specific Presidential pairings, whose friendships are, in their own ways, unique.

The friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft is well known. The two men, first acquainted in their young-married days, became great pals. Once TR became President, he insisted that WHT become a) his Secretary of War, and b) his successor as Chief Executive. Within four years, the once-bosom-buddy relationship deteriorated into disappointment, misunderstanding, challenges and estrangement. And then, with political gods smiling, like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, they reconciled later. 

But what makes this book particularly delicious, is the focus on what Taft brought to the friendship-table. They were both around the same age: early thirties. They both came from well-to-do and prominent families, Taft from Cincinnati and TR from New York City.  As promising men in appropriate young-men positions during the Benjamin Harrison administration, it was Taft (Yale) who had the better job: Solicitor General. TR (Harvard) was appointed to the newly created Civil Service Commission. Taft, already an experienced jurist, was temperamentally suited to the bench, laid back, reserved, dedicated to the law. TR, a state legislator, cowboy, author and general finger in all pie type, was whipping a mid-level position that nobody really cared about, into a frenzy of activity, and most of all, publicity. 

TR admired Taft. He admired his excellent mind, his conscientiousness, his judgment (judges are supposed to have judgment), and his warm and jolly disposition. Taft, on the other hand, loved TR for his exuberance, his imagination, boundless energy – and yes, his find mind, too.

But in the decade following, it was Taft who still held the better job. Benjamin Harrison liked him, and appointed him to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. TR, was merely the Police Commissioner of NYC, whipping up all sorts of excitement, along with political adversaries.

And, according to author Purdy, when Taft’s fellow Ohioan, William McKinley was elected President in 1896, TR was at loose ends. Having campaigned actively for candidate McKinley, TR hoped for a post as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Having written on naval history, he was considered an “expert.” Trouble was, McKinley was far more temperamentally suited to someone like Taft, and had heard about TR. A maverick. A potential “loose cannon.” Having reservations about the appointment would be putting it mildly. 

But the lesser-known story, is that Taft, who had known McKinley for years, gently and persistently lobbied for his NY pal. He finally got the job. He also gave McKinley the expected agita, became a Rough Rider, and rode into history.  

Purdy’s second pairing is completely different, and much less known. Franklin D. Roosevelt was old enough to be Lyndon B. Johnson’s father. FDR was a cosmopolitan, aristocratic New Yorker, fifth cousin to the aforementioned TR – and married to his niece! LBJ was a nobody, from an undistinguished family in a boondocky part of Texas, with a hard-won education at a local teacher’s college. Jumping at an opportunity to be an aide to an equally undistinguished Congressman, LBJ burst into Washington, where, like TR, he hoped to create enough of a storm to make noise.

While the “friendship” between Taft and TR was one of peers, the “friendship” between the POTUS and the congressional aide was a mentoring pat on the head to a promising young fella. Somehow, the tall Texan with astute political instincts, found continual opportunities to “befriend” men in high places, and place himself in the President’s path from time to time. And it was FDR, whose initials took up less space with more clout in the headlines, who inspired the young Lyndon Johnson to start promoting his own “LBJ” brand. 

FDR, with his own astute political instincts, recognized the qualities of the young-man-in-a-hurry, very much like the qualities in the young man he used to be. According to Purdy, the POTUS found opportunities to throw some mild influence Johnson’s way, whether it was to chair a Youth Administration group in Texas, or to be head of the Rural Electrification Administration. The President was happy to refer to Johnson as “his friend.” Johnson, on the other hand, considered the President like a “daddy.” Certainly better than his daddy back in Texas. 

Once LBJ won a Congressional seat on his own, opportunities for the continued mentor-mentee relationship abounded. Texas, even though a “blue” state at the time, always had a conservative inclination, and had never been a wildly FDR stronghold. Texan and Vice President John Nance Garner was far too conservative (and disinclined) to swing a heavy bat for the progressive Roosevelt. 

By 1940, the two-term VP Garner, adamantly opposed to a third term for FDR, planned to make his own challenge. It was LBJ who stepped into that Texas-Democratic picture, to a point of alienating Garner along with his “other” political godfather, Sam Rayburn. Fortunately, the political smarts of Roosevelt, Johnson and “Mr. Sam” managed to make lemonade out of a bunch of political lemons. The Garner boomlet fizzled. FDR was grateful.

Presidential Friendships is a nifty read. At only 100 pages, it’s short, sweet and snappy. It does exactly what Mike Purdy intended. To demonstrate the dynamics between men who became friends and occupied the White House. Roosevelt and Taft, personal and intellectual peers and diametrically opposed personalities. FDR and LBJ, separated by a generation gap, but two of a kind! 

The author is a fine and engaging writer. And, I am happy to add, a good friend. You will enjoy this book! Print and ebook available!

Presidential Friendships: How They Changed History

Author: Mike Purdy

Publisher: BookBaby

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1667847899 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1667847894