POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN BY LAWRENCE MARTIN IN TORONTO'S GLOBE AND MAIL
Robin Adams, below, has it right.
And there were still other less-than-Sterling qualities.
Roosevelt as assistant Secretary of the Navy when the
Spanish-American War broke out. He actually functioned as Secretary of the Navy
owing to the incapacity of his senior. Roosevelt thus was in charge when the
phony attack on the USS Maine happened. Roosevelt was quoted in those days as
saying he welcomed war, any war, to test out American troops.
To my mind one of his worst qualities - in complete
contradiction to his written love of birds - was his hunting activity.
I'm not castigating normal hunting.
But Roosevelt didn't hunt, he slaughtered on a massive
scale.
He would shoot wild game by the dozens and scores, piles of
them at each outing.
It was a disgraceful unethical and wasteful behavior, very
revealing I think of the mentality that made him one of America's great
imperialists.
He was a man of many talents and tireless energy, and he was
remarkable for overcoming his childhood disability of severe asthma, but he was
a man to admire in only qualified terms as a leader.
