A phrase that altered history: "I do not choose to run..."

August 8, 2015 | Self

[re_nortex]

It was 88 years ago this month that President Calvin Coolidge handed out strips of paper (that he cut himself) to members of the press during a brief conference with these words:

I do not choose to run for President in 1928.

This stunning event took place at the Summer White House in the Black Hills of South Dakota on August 2, 1927. The implications of Coolidge not actively seeking the Republican presidential nomination for 1928 reverberate to this day. While the terse phrasing appeared to leave the door open for a draft movement, the result was that Herbert Hoover became the standard-bearer for the party in the election against New York DemonRAT Al Smith in the general.

There's no doubt in my mind that this was THE critical turning point for the Republic in the 20th Century. Hoover was, at best, a RINO and had resonance with the Republican Progressive wing (Hiram Johnson, George Norris and even the extremist Robert ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette). It's no secret that Coolidge held Hoover in low regard, sarcastically calling him "Wonder Boy" and stating, "That man has offered me unsolicited advice every day for six years, all of it bad."

With Hoover winning the party's nod at the 1928 Convention in Kansas City, the stage was then set for the end of "Coolidge Prosperity" era, a period of domestic tranquility, world peace though strength and a series of tax cuts at home. The economy boomed with solid, substantial growth during the Coolidge years with the inspired guidance of Andrew Mellon, the Secretary of the Treasury. Both leaders took a hands off approach when it came to the economy. The results through the 1920s are self-evident and President Coolidge summed it succinctly when he stated, "After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world."

In my opinion, had John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. not penned those words, he would have swept to a landslide victory against in 1928 and secured American prosperity and strength for generations to come. Instead, proto-RINO Hoover was elected and the meddling of "Wonder Boy" ultimately led to the Great Depression and year after year of disastrous 'RAT rule.

[re_nortex]

IMHO, the depression of 1929 would have happened anyway, but would have been handled much better, as was the sharp but short recession of 1920-21.

While that possibility can't be dismissed, I think the "coolness" of President Coolidge would have been effective. He famously said:

If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.

In contrast, I think Hoover, a man of action, both hastened and worsened what would have otherwise been a mere correctional blip under the Coolidge/Mellon team. Hoover's engineering background and well-known humanitarian works led him into a course of meddling when, as Coolidge stated, the troubles would resolve on their own.

[Fiji Hill]

The best biography of Coolidge that I have read is Calvin Coolidge: The Man from Vermont by Claude Fuess (Boston: Little, Brown, 1940). Another good one is Coolidge, a recent and thoroughgoing account by Amity Shlaes (New York: Harper, 2013).

You might also read Why Coolidge Matters: Leadership Lessons from America’s Most Underrated President by Charles C. Johnson (New York: Encounter, 2013).

Coolidge and the Historians by Thomas A. Silver (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1982) recounts the shoddy treatment Coolidge has received from historians. However, the book is hard to find and has become collectible and expensive.

Coolidge's own writings, especially the anthologies of his speeches are highly useful in understanding his political philosophy. These include The Price of Freedom (New York: Scribner's, 1924) and Calvin Coolidge: His Ideas of Citizenship as Revealed Through His Speeches and Writings (Boston: Wilde, 1924)

[Roos_Girl]

Thank you. My favorite president.

[Squawk 8888]

Hoover also alienated black Republican voters with his handling of the Mississipi floods. He was more responsible for the Dem plantation than any Democrats.

[Fiji Hill]

Arguably, the best biography of Harding is The Harding era: Warren G. Harding and His Administration (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1969). John Dean of Watergate infamy recently wrote a short biography of Harding, but I wouldn't trust Dean any further than I could throw an ice box.

[re_nortex]

I have to ask my colleagues and FRiends on this thread about his autobiography.

As much as I admire President Coolidge, that book left me hungry for more insight than he revealed. He lived up to his moniker of "Silent Cal" in that volume and perhaps his desire for privacy led to its terseness and lack of revelation.

That said, it does need to be on the bookshelf for those interested in this remarkable man. My suggestion is that it be read after a couple of others have first been digested, including those that Fiji Hill enumerated.

[GeronL]

The left would not have surrendered. They would have started over their march through the institutions. No matter how long it took. Even if thoroughly discredited (fall of USSR) they don’t stop.

Someone posted an article from 1918 that described the left perfectly and their threat to America. It was prescient to a scary degree.

[re_nortex]

Hoover also alienated black Republican voters with his handling of the Mississippi floods. He was more responsible for the Dem plantation than any Democrats.

As I stated in the initial post, Herbert Hoover was a proto-RINO. He was a "compassionate Conservative" long before that term was widespread. But, of course, what little remained of his Conservatism was fatally compromised by his desire for "social justice". If Hoover were around in the 21st Century, he may still be a nominal Republican but of the John Huntsman squishy strain.

[Fiji Hill]

Would Charles G. Dawes have continued Coolidge’s policies?

He probably would have, although he doesn't seem to have gotten along all that well with the president.

By the way, Dawes wrote the melody to Tommy Edwards' 1958 hit song It's All In the Game

[re_nortex]

In my predictions of a world with President Coolidge winning in 1928, one important item was left off the list:

No TVA Boondoggle!

The leftists (including the Republican Progressive wing) opposed Coolidge's privatization of Muscle Shoals of which Henry Ford was leading contender. I think Coolidge would have pushed hard against the central government getting involved in what eventually became the Tennessee Valley Authority, a socialist agency that has drained billions (if not trillions) from the economy.

Even the symbol of the TVA, above, screams out its revolutionary commie origins. For a few years I did live in an area where the TVA monopoly ran the electric utilities. Outages were frequent and the rates far above what private enterprise would have had.

[virgil283]

"President Calvin Coolidge handed out strips of paper (that he cut himself) to members of the press during a brief conference with these words: I do not choose to run for President in 1928."...

That's Silent Cal, He didn't say anything, just handed them slips of paper... ha

[theoriginaljdp]

One of my seminary professors called it “thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.” Same principle - socialism (or sin) keeps creeping forward.

[Arthur McGowan]

I have the 1924 Victor record by Fritz Kreisler of “Melody in A”—or was it “F”?—which became “It’s All in the Game.”

[Rodamala]

When C-Span was doing their First Ladies series a few years back, I happened to catch the Grace Coolidge episode. Definately one of my favorite first ladies. Class and Distinction... a genuine Lady.

[re_nortex]

For those who not be familiar with her, here's what Grace Goodhue Coolidge looked like:

She was stunningly beautiful and suffice it to say that Calvin sure did "marry up". In spite of being a skilled and effective president, he was awkward socially due to his shyness. The First Lady more than compensated for that.

[sparklite2]

At one time, I had an extensive collection of Harding related books. One of the most risible was The Strange Death of President Harding, by one of Harding’s cohorts who eventually died in prison.

[sparklite2]

I think of Hoover as another Jack Kemp. Good-hearted but misdirected.

[RightCenter]

what incentive would there be for private enterprise to go out of their way to electrify backwoods areas?