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PRESIDENTIAL FEUDS, PART III

© John S. Cooper

One of the most fascinating presidential feuds involved two men who had been best of personal and political friends, Theodore Roosevelt (left) and William Howard Taft (right). Teddy Roosevelt had been Vice President when President McKinley was assassinated in 1901. He had gone on to be an incredibly popular President. Unfortunately, on election night in 1904, Teddy had said he would not run for another term in 1908. In 1908, Teddy kept his word and retired. He virtually appointed his friend and Secretary of War William Howard Taft as his successor. With Teddy’s support, Taft won in a landslide. But shortly after Taft took office, the friendship, both political and personal, began to break apart until the two men became bitter enemies. Their feud changed not only our history, but also the history of the entire world.

William Howard Taft came from a distinguished family with a long history of public service. He had already served as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals when President McKinley named him as the first civil governor of the Philippines. As the governor of the Philippines, his immediate superior was Secretary of War Elihu Root. Root both liked and respected Taft. He also worried about Taft in the hot, humid Philippine climate. Taft’s weight varied during his career from 300 to 360 pounds. Once, upon hearing rumors that Taft was having health problems, he cabled Taft asking about his health. Taft replied that his health was good, and that he had that very day gone for a horseback ride 25 miles into the mountains and back. Root called back, “How is the horse?”

When Root was elevated to Secretary of State by President Roosevelt, Taft became Secretary of War. Roosevelt quickly took a strong liking to Taft and gained a strong respect for his abilities. Taft soon became one of Roosevelt’s most trusted political lieutenants and a sort of trouble-shooter for the President. Roosevelt liked to quip that he never worried about things boiling over in the capital when he was away, because he left Taft sitting on the lid. In addition to the obvious joke about Taft’s weight, it also accurately described his reliance on Taft to keep a watch on things while Roosevelt was away.

On election night 1904, Teddy Roosevelt had promised not to run for a third term, a decision he later regretted. At the end of his second term, he wanted his faithful Secretary of War William Howard Taft to run for president. After a dinner party one evening, Teddy and the Tafts went into the library, and Teddy sat down in a big chair, closed his eyes and said, "I am the seventh son of a seventh daughter. I have clairvoyant powers. I see a man standing before me weighing about 350 pounds. There is something hanging over his head. I cannot make out what it is...At one time it looks like the Presidency---then again it looks like the Chief Justiceship." Mrs. Taft cried, "Make it the Presidency!" William Howard Taft declared, "Make it the Chief Justiceship!" In the end, Teddy and Mrs. Taft talked William Howard Taft into running for the White House. With Teddy’s active support, Taft won by a landslide over William Jennings Bryan who was making his third and final try as the Democratic nominee.

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