so everything is good for theodore roosevelt at this time. but as people have been saying for thousands of years, fortune is fickle. on the morning of february 13th, 1884, roosevelt was in albany at the state assembly and he received a message saying he was now the father of a little girl. and later that afternoon, he received another message saying that his wife wasn't doing very well and he should come home. so he got on the train and headed back to new york city on a very foggy night and he didn't get home until midnight. he went to his mother's house which is where his wife was staying during the final weeks of her pregnancy. and he knocked on the door and his younger brother, elliott, who would one day be the father of eleanor roosevelt answered the door and said immediately there's a curse on this house. not only was roosevelt's wife gravely ill but so was his mother and within the next 14 hours both his mother and wife died. his wife while he held her in his arms. his mother died of 5 for identification at the age of 48 and his 22-year-

he had just become, just entered his sophomore year at harvard when theodore roosevelt became president. so roosevelt's vision of an american sentry, of a globally-assertive united states was something that was bred into franklin roosevelt really in his youth. and i don't think ever left him. and all through his public career you hear kind of theodore rooseveltian rhetoric. i was just reading and listening the other day to his third inaugural speech where he talks about, um, in lincoln's day the great challenge facing the presidency was danger from within. now we are dealing with danger from without, namely fascist nazi germany and fascist italy. but ea also ends -- but he also ends about the mission of the united states is not only to be vigilant about this, but also to defend and promote democracy around the world. um, so it's a consistent theme in his, in his public life that is, um, i think, striking and striking to some degree because it's not, it's not really recognized as such. there's this, i think the historical consensus about fdr is still, as about any historical figure, it's

. >>> and in 1901 in a speech at the minnesota state fair then vice president theodore roosevelt offeredhe now famous advice, speak softly and carry a big stick. >>> all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." >>> finally here's a look at what's is coming up later this morning on the "today" show. residents along the gulf brace themselves as a tropical storm heads their way, and four time grammy winner lenny kravitz rocks the plaza with a full half hour of music to close out the today summer concert series. >>> now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

bush theodore roosevelt on there i think if we could see that group i think if we could find a way to kind of memorialize the s n l for sharon of george bush on mount rushmore i'd be all for it that would just like it should matter slide or something. else you know just. great is greatest hits just kind of playing on the other faces that's totally defacing the rest of them but i don't care it could just read the other fictions yet we could take over and try to do and. then maybe other great things i like that i like that a little preemptive war after. they decide. ok let's move on to something else this image might disturb you a little bit this was taken from new york and this was the west indian festival that was going on in a couple police decided to get in on the dancing. ah ah . i can't dance at the jefferson memorial but the cops are allowed to do that out of the street new york it's just disgusting if you. like the most awesome lives you know what was out last video of the guy having sex on the top of his call i think getting fired is one of those really couldn't believe. i did

taft was popular because he is the handpicked successor to a very popular president, theodore roosevelt. >> his closest race was 1896. for the election results, we're joined by marie in connecticut. welcome to the conversation. >> i wanted to know, how did williams jennings bryan come to live in miami, fla.? >> in fact, coral gables, florida. >> he contracted really bad, crippling arthritis. -- his wife contracted really bad, crippling arthritis. she could not live in the winter climate anymore. miami was beginning to be a place for older people to go if they could afford to. also, he had business out there. he had a lot of supporters there. they would go to miami, stay in france houses. they decided to move there. it was a very good move for her, certainly. >> you tell a story in the book about how the venetian school in florida is still there today. >> after he had given up all hope of becoming president, he began to make some money giving speeches for promoters. this is now one of his more honorable adventures, perhaps, but he needed to make money, and he did. >> we move to 1912 and

. >> new york state was the place where theodore roosevelt was beginning to make his presence known.e an influence? >> no, he was considered a mugwump, one of the liberals. that is a trend that began his career in that direction at least into the 1890's. >> what is interesting about the 1884 election is that was highly personal. >> highly personal. we usually don't think that they were but they were very personal, especially starting with andrew jackson. this is really a fight about blaine as a corrupt politician and cleveland had a child out of wedlock somewhere in the country. they are slinging nasty mud at each other. >> there are two phrases that most high school students study in their high school books that are from this campaign, the first is rome, romanism, and rebellion. where did this come from? >> that was a minister and about a week before the election, he gave a talk that blaine was party to in which he denounced the democratic party as the party of rum, romanism, and rebellion. rome, -- rum, prohibition, romanism, the catholic church. this is one of the phrases that app

it's really all 1902 when theodore roosevelt did the great restoration with stanford white.rchitecture, the consoles with the eagles, the furniture and the chandeliers. >> that's from a cbs special widely watched way back in the '60s. the book on jackie kennedy is controversial because she says some bad things about martin luther king and lyndon johnson. let's take the martin luther king junior deal first. it's reported hoover didn't like dr. king. that's a matter of historical fact, and was taping him, wire taping him because he fell the doctor was a communist, an agitator and on and on. this is j edgar hoover. what he got off the tapes, some was embarrassing to dr. king s that a historical fact? >> that is a historical fact. bobby kennedy, who was the attorney general at the time, and john kennedy, were anti-communists. >> on the tapes was some personal stuff that dr. king was talking about as far as miss stresses were concerned, right? >> well, we don't know because we haven't actually heard -- we are hearing what mrs. kennedy said she was told, and we aren't even sure wh

there are profound reasons -- supposedly, theodore roosevelt was reading about in sinclair's "the jungle -- reading upton sinclair's "the general." -- "the jungle." and he was reading the part about the gentleman who fell back into the machinery. and he supposedly bad day the but the food and drug administration. -- that today developed the food and drug administration. i was a kid in world war ii and you could not always drink the water. i am for those requirements necessary as a base line. i am against turning massive power over to bureaucrats who inevitably politicize and are inevitably ignorant. they are a thousand miles away. you have to have laws that hold people accountable. you have to have laws that provide for transparency. we now live in an age where, frankly, with the internet and everything, you have enormous amounts of information flow have relatively low cost. that is why this gives you a way to have a real safety and efficiency and productivity. it would -- we ought to be able to have all three. i will say this again. i'm not going to ask anybody to be for us. but if you

vice president theodore roosevelt said he always wanted to become president, but not like that. but an anarchist shot his predecessor 110 years ago today. >>> that is our fox report on this tuesday, september 6, 2011. i'm in for shepard smith. he's back tomorrow. starting with studio b at 3:00 p.m. on the east coast, noon in the west. "the factor" is right now. >> laura: "the o'reilly factor" is on. tonight. >> everybody here has got a vote. if we go back, we keep our eye on the prize, let's take these son of a (bleep) back and take america back. >> you you are the only folks keeping the bar barracks back. >> attacking republicans and the tea party. what happened to the president's call for civility? >> i'm talking about a program of a trillion dollars or more. >> the public should want what i want but it doesn't. >> despite the $14 trillion in debt, the far left still demanding trillions more in spending. is this what obama will propose in his big speech thursday night? we'll have a preview. >> obama's hope has changed us from a country of hope to one of anxiety. >> this presid

that's what america did to create the biggest middle class in history from the time of theodore roosevelt through franklin roosevelt. that's what works and that's what has to be done today. and it has to be done in america, to make sure that we have an economy of shared prosperity and shared responsibili responsibility, and it's what we're trying to create in the world. it's what i'm trying to do in the work i do in haiti and it's what the clinton global initiative tries 20 do. >> so talk about what tangible, out of this meeting, because this is a tangible meeting. this is about direct results and not just conversation, what do you get tangibly out of this that's about public/private partnership, at a time when the role of government is under fire, as you know? >> well, there will be -- i think there will be somewhere on the order of $5 billion or $6 billion worth of commitments over a multi-year period to do moreto to, for example, establish women businesses in developing countries where women have not been a full partner in the economy, as well as to send more young girls to school and

theodore roosevelt was a trust buster because he saw the market was not capable of regulating itself. and it's impeccable reb can view. i would love to see an all-out political debate on television, mod vate-- moderated by you in t's say next spring. next summer. >> rose: i'll make the request right now. we'll do it at this table. >> good. >> rose: and we're about to find out who is as good articulating their poi of view as you are in articulating yours and we'll have have at it. and our question is as simple as what is the role of government in our soety. >> how much governme. nor, the great question i think from the federalist paper, from the profound division that madison and jefferson on one side and hamilton on the other add was not-- a wonderful thing. madison's more or less on the same side of jefferson. not quite as trench antley utopian about the virtues of the american society. t more or less. the issue is how much government is acceptable in american life. actually how much government. and but it was a real debate and hamilton was prepared to say i do not want-- the reason

grover cleveland is generally regarded as the most impressive president between lincoln and theodore roosevelt. >> and off the list, perhaps in parentheses, we should talk about some contenders that we should forget. >> well, they have been forgotten. >> let me ask you though, you wrote a book on adelaide stevenson. would you put adelaide stevenson at the table? >> yes. >> did you ever meet him? >> know. i did spend some time with his son, who as you know was a senator and then resigned in 1980. he made a big tactical mistake, went back and ran for governor in illinois and was beaten. he retired from politics. but that is interesting thing about most of these people. they are really committed to anything in public service and they are all effective politicians. adlai stevenson had that side to him of -- i am not sure i really want to be doing this, and yet he has given us some of the best epithet's we have in america. i remember he said to eisenhower in 1952, i will stop telling the truth about republicans if they will stop telling lies about the democrats. nixon was accused of cutting every t

republicans held their convention, william howard taft, the incumbent was opposed by former president theodore roosevelt taft won and roosevelt was so bitter over that loss that he formed a third-party, the progressive or bull moose party. >> and he was really seen as the bigger competitor to wilson. he was so popular. so one of roosevelt's advisors came up to him and he said, we've managed to obtain some letters of woodrow wilson's to mary peck. you should publish them and just campaign will be over. you will win. and roosevelt said, no, that would be wrong. also, he said nobody would believe me. who's going to think the man is a romeo. he looks like he ought to be working in a drugstore. [laughter] >> so he did not publish the letters and woodrow wilson won. so in the beginning of 1913, ellen found herself in the white house. it was not a place she ever wanted to be, but once she was there, she felt she had to use it for its maximum benefit. she began to be interested in what we would now call urban renewal. up here behind the capitol were a maze little alley ways, they were little, dark and dirty. th

i think his model is like theodore roosevelt we need to support and affirm the national interest andight. i think he will argue a plan he has been popular in both parties. >> nick, he has to be tough and conciliatory because he can't really anger this kind of powerful sliver of the republican party that has been holding things up. >> it's a fine needle to thread. president has two other big speeches he'll give before the country. the state of the union and his democratic acceptance speech so this is a rare moment. typically, presidents do the joint sessions during great times of crisis. fdr before the war and gerald ford after he became president. he has to meet the republicans halfway on a few items as ron mentioned to get things done and, at the same time, draw a line in the sand. it is a political speech so it's a very fine line to walk. >> you know, the era of decisiveness we have in and ask both of you to finish this off. ron, carol's question of the day. how do we overcome this? i mean, can this legislation, this speech, this moment tonight overcome which is a poisoned atmosphe

grover cleveland is generally regarded as the most impressive president between lincoln and theodore roosevelt. >> and off the list, perhaps in parentheses, we should talk about some contenders that we should forget. >> well, they have been forgotten. >> let me ask you though, you wrote a book on adelaide stevenson. would you put adelaide stevenson at the table? >> yes. >> did you ever meet him? >> know. i did spend some time with his son, who as you know was a senator and then resigned in 1980. he made a big tactical mistake, went back and ran for governor in illinois and was beaten. he retired from politics. but that is interesting thing about most of these people. they are really committed to anything in public service and they are all effective politicians. adlai stevenson had that side to him of -- i am not sure i really want to be doing this, and yet he has given us some of the best epithet's we have in america. i remember he said to eisenhower in 1952, i will stop telling the truth about republicans if they will stop telling lies about the democrats. democrats. nixon was accused of cutt

. >> theodore roosevelt was about to make his presence known. was he a factor in the outcome? >what is interesting was that te election was highly personal. >> we do not think 19th century politics were personal. they were personal starting with andrew jackson. it was a fight about blaine as a corrupt politician. perhaps cleveland had a child out of wedlock. they are slinging mud at each other. >> i school students -- high school students study two slogans that came out of this campaign. one of them was rum, -- where did this come from? >> rum, romanism and rebellion. that phrase was carried quickly by the telegraph and newspapers all over the country. it is one of the phrases that contributed to blaine's loss. >> many people actually thought he had said it. but it is just he did not denounce it. >> was there and anti-catholic mood in the country? >> there is still. the irish were immigrating in large numbers. and the prohibition and the temperance movement was rubbing up against that as well. >> the second phrase is ma, y pa?here is min gone to the white house, ha, ha, ha. >>

and theodore roosevelt was so exciting and had all of this the venture.hate to say i think i would choose car field. my sister is here. she can tell you, we come from a family of four girls and have the most incredible father. i am just a good, kind, honest man. all these years i was working on this book, a trough of reminded me of my father. in know, such incredible intellectual. i think i would have to choose them. [applause] [applause] >> hi there. as an aspiring journalist in a pretty big fan of history and wondering about the unique challenges that come with when you're writing a book that is primarily about people who live along time ago spreading about the past a meal to make his characters come alive even though it can ask the questions directly. >> is a great question. i would say you want to go into writing. to me one of the things i learned is that the important part of writing is finding the right idea. half the aspects has to be, you have to have a lot of primary sources to work with. with this story i had a wealth of sources. for instance, i

there are profound reasons -- supposedly, theodore roosevelt was reading about in sinclair's "the jungle -- reading upton sinclair's "the general." -- "the jungle." and he was reading the part about the gentleman who fell back into the machinery. and he supposedly bad day the but the food and drug administration. -- that today developed the food and drug administration. i was a kid in world war ii and you could not always drink the water. i am for those requirements necessary as a base line. i am against turning massive power over to bureaucrats who inevitably politicize and are inevitably ignorant. they are a thousand miles away. you have to have laws that hold people accountable. you have to have laws that provide for transparency. we now live in an age where, frankly, with the internet and everything, you have enormous amounts of information flow he relatively low cost. that is why this gives you a way to have a real safety and efficiency and productivity. it would -- we ought to be able to have all three. i will say ts again. i'm not going to ask anybody to be for us. but if you want

deciding does this country want to be good or does it want to be great and you have people like theodore rooseveltand henry cabot lodge and the men in the government and the military who saw the greatness as an empire who wanted to build up the navy and acquire these islands, specifically to use as naval stations to support a navy to become an old style of european-style empire, and they saw that as greatness and they won and we live in their country, and so whenever you think about that on one side or the other the the there are plans for our position and that's the moment it happens when we are still dealing with the ramifications of that. >> next call from sarah vowell comes from washington d.c.. you are on book tv. please, go ahead. >> caller: ha, sarah. i'm just wondering, i heard all your books, and i'm wondering if you are working on anything at the moment or what we can expect from you in the coming months or years. >> i don't know if i want to give anything away just yet. i'm kind of thinking about architecture but i'm not ready to talk about that yet. >> give if you would a synopsis of w