“Well, at the time, we certainly regarded them [Elianor and Franklin Roosevelt] as partners. We did not know what has since come out about the difficulties of their marital life, or the problems that Franklin gave Eleanor and his mother gave Eleanor, in many respects. We didn't know much about that.” KnowsWellsProblemMotherDifficultyPartnersFranklinEleanor Author:William A. Rusher
“They seemed like a team. And I think it is fair to say that Roosevelt was the consummate politician and that Eleanor was the socially conscious activist. It gave them a nice combination of yang and yin, which they took advantage of. And I think it worked very well for them politically.” ThinkingWellsNiceTeamPoliticianConsciousAdvantageFairsCombinationActivistEleanorYang Author:William A. Rusher
“Well, you have to remember that until 1948, when Hubert Humphrey and others forced the Democratic Party to adopt a new policy on civil rights, the Democratic Party was the party of the old solid South. All of the racists, all of the Cottonhead Smith types and so on were Democrats, allies of Franklin Roosevelt - because of their seniority - of all the major committees of the Congress.” WellsRememberPartyRightsPolicyTypeMajorsDemocraticDemocratSouthCongressCivil RightsRacistAlliesCommitteesDemocratic PartyFranklinSeniority Author:William A. Rusher
“I think that it is true that Eleanor Roosevelt, by being so active on that front, contributed to that impression very substantially. And it's to her credit that she was interested in this, let me say. But once again, I'm not sure the extent to which Roosevelt - I guess he did use her really, particularly on the civil rights front. No question about it, because she was well identified out there, and brought a good many blacks into the Administration, into the White House, into his presence and so on.” ThinkingWellsUseHouseWhiteRightsFrontsLet MeCreditActiveImpressionCivil RightsAdministrationNot SureGood ManWhite HouseEleanor Author:William A. Rusher
“Well, I didn't read My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt very carefully. I was away during a lot of that, in the war and so on. She was not all that good a writer. She was a little bit on the banal side, and you know, what happened, and then this happened, and then that happened... But I will say this. She got very well paid for it.” KnowsWellsLittlesWarBitsSidesHappenedLittle BitPaidEleanor Author:William A. Rusher
“People who thought that she was busy going around trying to stir up difficulty where there was none or less than she imagined, were quite critical of her. She was, we must never forget, a public figure. And in democracies, public figures tend to attract criticism as well as praise. The most dangerous thing would be if anybody were regarded as above criticism. And Eleanor Roosevelt is, in recent years, getting there.” PeopleIfsTryingYearsWellsWould BeForgetDemocracyDangerousFiguresCriticismDifficultyPraiseBusyCriticalNever ForgetDangerous ThingsEleanorPublic Figures Author:William A. Rusher
“She was obviously useful at the UN because she had a public persona before she ever got there. She was well known. She was a spokeswoman for many important things. When she got there, what she said was paid attention to, undoubtedly much more than would have been if just Joe Blow had been made our representative to the United Nations. In that sense, I think it was useful to have her there.” IfsThinkingWellsHas BeensMadeSaidImportantNationsUnitedAttentionKnownPaidImportant ThingsBlowRepresentativesWell KnownUnited NationsPersona Author:William A. Rusher
“One of the most influential women of the 20th century? Well, that may be overdoing it. When one thinks of really influential women, my mind turns to Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, ... some of the true political leaders in their own right.” ThinkingMindWellsMayPoliticalTurnsLeaderCentury20th CenturyInfluentialPolitical LeadersOverdoing It Author:William A. Rusher
