A nostalgic George W. Bush mark's 150th anniversary of Teddy Roosevelt's birth

After eight years in office, George W. Bush is finally getting reflective about his predecessors, maybe even nostalgic.

On Monday night he hosted an event in the East Room of the White House to mark the 150th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt's birthday. Teddy Roosevelt, who took the Rough Riders charging up San Juan Hill and who refused to shoot a tethered teddy bear (leading one New York toy manufacturer to invent a doll in his honor), is an icon to Republicans. Teddy is the wilderness guy, the one loved exercising in the outdoors, the one they point to with pride whenever Democrats berate them for not caring enough about the environment.

First Lady Laura Bush talked about the raucous Roosevelt family, with the youngest of five children sliding on stairs on stolen trays, peppering Andrew Jackson's portrait with spitballs and turning the East Room into a makeshift skating ring. In remarks recalling the exuberance of TR's family, she said:

They kept a zoo of pets. And they took their calico pony, Algonquin, upstairs in the White House elevator to visit their brother when he was sick. As White House Chief Usher Ike Hoover put it, "A nervous person had no business around the White House in those days."

When the president spoke, he acknowledged Joe Wiegand, an actor on hand to reenact scenes from Roosevelt's life. Bush said:

Oftentimes people ask me, "Do you ever see any of the ghosts of your predecessors here in the White House?" I said, "No I quit drinking." But I just saw one.

Calling Roosevelt "one of the greatest statesmen in our nation's history," Bush, who has a penchant for giving nicknames to almost everyone, added, "I call him Theodore. Occasionally call him TR."

Bush praised Roosevelt as "a man who felt at home on a sprawling ranch in the West," who believed in a strenuous life of exercise. "I can relate to that," said Bush. And he recalled that during TR's presidency, one member of Congress said President Roosevelt's efforts would create "confusion and discord" in the English language. Quipped Bush: "I can relate to that."

-- Johanna Neuman 

Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press

Comments

[dartagnan]

I can imagine what TR, who WROTE more books than Gee Dumbya probably has read in his life, would have to say about the current White House occupant. It wouldn't be pretty.

[sobe]

TR was the very epitome of the jingoistic American President.

when were you born