National Recovery Quotes
This is a wonderful historical picture of FDR on his campaign train. Note that the President liked to listen to ideas of many people. Unlike most Presidents he did not have any particular political programs that he advocated in his campaigning. He had no immediate answers to the Great Depression that he had inherited from the Hoover administration. But unlike Hoover, and most Presidents, he was willing to try ideas for which there was no advance evidence of success. If that did not help, he would try something else. He sought ideas from anyone and everyone. His enemies called him a weak leader who had no ideology—no principles but just trying unproven solutions to solve the nation’s critical problems. But it worked and he was elected 4 times—the only President who had served even 3 terms.
The Priest was the right wing demagogic radio host of his day. Virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Black, he was threatened with excommunication by the Catholic Church, which finally ordered him to cease us weekly radio show and stop the political hate.
Precursor to CIA. WWII had begun in Europe and England was under great pressure as Hitler threatened invasion and the German military had been successful everywhere they tried to invade. FDR had received an intelligence report and advice from our Ambassador to England, Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK’s father). He told the military, the State Department, and the President that England was finished—that they would not be able to stave off the coming German invasion. He predicted that Germany would set up a puppet state. Any help America could supply would not only be wasted but if material, would fall into the hands of the Nazis and be used against us. {610109} The military attaches attached to our Embassy in England generally agreed. However, the President knew that not only did Kennedy dislike Winston Churchill {613151}, but he had been an admirer not only of German Fascism, but Hitler in particular. Kennedy ran around with some of the wealthy, aristocratic English Fascists who were advocating a negotiated surrender to prevent English civilian casualties. So FDR sent his friend, Donavan, to make an independent Assessment. Donovan had served as an officer in WWI and had earned the Medal of Honor. This quotation was the summary of Donovan’s recommendation. Based on Donovan’s report, and other information, the president had gathered and his geopolitical judgment, FDR provided aid to England (Lend Lease) and fired Kennedy, who had disliked Roosevelt before and this turned to hate and became a vendetta for Kennedy thereafter, especially when his oldest son Joe volunteered to serve in the war, that the Ambassador had so viciously opposed, {610121} and then was killed while carrying out a very dangerous volunteer mission. {616651}.
