As far as TR goes, he was one of the most visionary and effective Presidents we have ever had. I would have followed him to hell and back.
Taft was Roosevelt's handpicked successor. By the time 1912 came, Taft got the nomination. That means that the largest number of Republicans wanted Taft. That is why I said that Taft eclipsed Roosevelt.
It was actually Taft's turn, as the nomination was for what should have been Taft's second term. Roosevelt should have stayed out of the fray as an ex-President, out to pasture, that already had been President for the bulk of two terms. As it was, Roosevelt rallied progressives to create his Bull Moose Party.
Taft went on to become the only person in our history to hold the highest office in both the Executive and Legislative branches of Government. That is why I said that Taft eclipsed Roosevelt in more ways than one. Plus Taft's very large stature and girth. Look out, there's another eclipse!<
The reason that Roosevelt felt that Taft caved in to the Rats is, because Taft leaned to much toward "Big Business" and more conservative Republicans. Roosevelt felt that Taft was not progressively liberal enough. Yet Taft went on to write the Supreme Court Decision that gave individuals the right to organize, to join a union, and to strike against companies which was lifted directly from the Communist Manifesto. Taft's decision even stated that an ex-employee could picket and libel his former employer with impunity.
As far as TR goes, he was one of the most visionary and effective Presidents we have ever had. I would have followed him to hell and back.
Roosevelt's numerous accomplishments included; The Creation of The Department of Commerce and Labor; The Pure Food and Drug Act; the Meat Inspection Act. He created the idea of Federal Land and set aside 230 million acres, a land area equivalent to that of all the East coast states from Maine to Florida. He advocated the idea for the minimum wage as a "Living Wage for Americans." He created The Twentieth Century model of the "Big Chief Executive" that every POTUS since has followed. He may be your hero but he was a progressive Big Government Socialist.
I still, but only, admire him for being a larger than life objectivist individual. For that reason, I probably would have followed him to hell and back too.