every couple years, some conservative yahoo with a big smile comes along and everyone declares him 'the next tr' and then it turns out he just sucks and is actually bad at this and absolutely does not in anyway have anything in common with theodore roosevelt

there are many reasons for this, but as a historian, let me tell you that one of them is pretty simple: there will never truly be another theodore roosevelt. there are few absolutely singular figures in american history, but tr is one of them and always will be.

everything about tr's life that made him THEODORE ROOSEVELT- his life experiences, his personality, his ambition, his political abilities, his connections, his timing in american history, his mythos- none of that is ever gonna be fully replicated by anyone, much less these yahoos

he was so good at this that HIS OWN PARTY made him VICE PRESIDENT in an attempt to keep him from becoming president because they knew they couldn't stop him from going far so they purposefully put him on the doorstep to try to keep him from kicking in the door himself

and seeing people pretend that any yahoo with a lot of teeth and a jd who vaguely gestures towards some sort of fucked up populism is actually going to become equal in anyway to one the singular figures in american history is deeply ridiculous every single time

(this thread is exclusively about tr's place in politics and american history, not his policies or beliefs, which of course anyone could copy easily enough)