Ken Burns' terrific new epic "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History" kicked off last night on PBS, and it may be his best documentary yet. Burns was making the rounds on the Sunday poo-flings yesterday, and was joined in a discussion of the documentary on "Face The Nation" by historian Geoffrey Ward. When the discussion turned to Franklin Roosevelt's need to wear heavy leg braces as a result of his polio, there was talk of how the press in those days refrained from showing him to the public with crutches or a wheelchair. Host Bob Schieffer noted that someone running for President these days wouldn't get the same courtesy. Ward agreed, saying:
"... I think TV crews would compete with each other to see who could get the footage that showed him at his most helpless. He had to be carried in and out of buildings. He had to be helped to remove his braces and so on. And I think Fox News would have loved that." (emphasis added)Indeed they would have, and probably would have accused him of being a "secret Muslim," "a Marxist," or "weak." FDR stood for everything Fux is trying to tear down: the social compact and safety net, fair labor practices, and a progressive, tolerant America where "we all do well when we all do well."
(photo: FDR Library, 1941)
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