The President Who Obeyed the Constitution
William Howard Taft, by Jeffrey Rosen, New York: Times Books, 2018, 137 pages, hardcover.
Today William Howard Taft is remembered as the president who got “stuck” in the White House bathtub (he weighed well in excess of 300 pounds), or as the first president to throw out the first ball at a major league baseball game. Many conservatives are even better acquainted with his son, Senator Robert A. Taft — a hero to many in the “Old Right.” But William Taft should be remembered for other things.
Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, presents an excellent overview of one of our least-remembered presidents. The picture of William Howard Taft that emerges in a new biography is that of a president who revered the Constitution and firmly believed that it created a republic, not a democracy. Conservatives today who agree with those sentiments will find multiple examples herein to like, but also some areas of disagreement with Taft.
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