This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, four times elected president of the United States. The first re-election is the critical change from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the candidate of from outside, from New York,

in a Democratic Party dominated by the South and had been even before the catastrophe of the Civil War.

And into a national party, 1936, I welcome David Petrucia, the historian and storyteller of the new book

Roosevelt Sweeps Nation, subhead, FDR's 1936 landslide, and the triumph of the liberal ideal,

revelatory about trends that are in place today, voting demographics, national attention

for where the Republicans do not fare, where the Democrats fare very well. David, a very good

evening to you. Hardy congratulations. And we begin in 1936 as Louis Howe lays dying.

And Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt's wife, very strong-minded wife, but alienated from his affections for many years,

has attached herself to caring for Louis Howe in the hospital as he coughs himself into what we know now is the end, the end days, a p—a smoker, ancessant smoker and a man of very poor health habits.

But the man credited for riding with Roosevelt from the early success as a New York State Senator campaigning

in Duchess County all the way into the White House in the election of 32. It is now April

36 and Louis is dying. What does he represent to the president? What does he represent to Eleanor?

Good evening to you, David. Good evening. Louis Howe is,

of course, a mess at that point. He's always been a mess, rather unsightly, and in many cases,

unpleasant, acerbic. But he had always been, he had worshiped Frank Ben Roosevelt from the time he had

met him in 1912, in Albany, helped him get

reelected to a basically to a Republican district in the state senate and guided him until 1932

when they make the big jump to the White House. And when he works himself like 16 hour days and gets

it to under 100 pounds, but his smoking has caught up with him in 1934. He has severe bronchitis

in 1935. They've moved an oxygen tent into his room in the White House, which is

strewn not only with oxygen tents, but liquor bottles and with portrait upon portrait of

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