The Manichean Paranoia Patch

A nice little history lesson here. I liked their selection and the commentary.

From an actual Theodore Roosevelt eulogy given at the time of his passing: “Death had to take him sleeping, for if Roosevelt had been awake there would have been a fight.”

If I could change one thing, I would have added some things about Quincy Adams; I felt like their explanation of his badassery was insufficient. For example, Quincy Adams was a terrible communicator and he was extremely distrustful of the masses. Although he was the probably one of the smartest men ever to hold he office, he had a nasty habit of saying things like, “most voters are stupid and are swayed more by popular sentiment and emotional appeal than a solid understanding of the issues.” Which, while as true in the 1800’s as it is today, isn’t the sort of thing you say when you’re trying to get votes.