The

The President, Franklin D. Roosevelt is almost always described as one of America's greatest presidents.

Whenever historians rank the presidents, he's always listed in the top two or three. Sometimes

he's even been ranked as the single greatest American president. He's the only chief executive

to serve more than two terms. He was elected to four, a fact that seems to confirm historian's

judgment. But when you read about what people wrote about him during his lifetime and in the

decades after, you often find an acknowledgement that he was very controversial. When I was a kid,

I had an encyclopedia that dated to the 1960s that described him as the most controversial

president of all time.

The American Heritage History Encyclopedia wrote that, quote, to his enemies,

Roosevelt was a dictator and a charlatan.

And it also said that his supporters saw him as, quote,

the friend of the poor, champion of minorities, the defender of labor,

the patrician savior of capitalism,

and the inspiring architect of allied victory over the axis. His secretary of interior even wrote

that Roosevelt was able to, quote, inspire a mad devotion that can see no flaw or kindle a hatred of

intensity that will yet admit of no virtue.

Well, just as back then, some admire FDR and some don't, we've had a few guests on this podcast

to admire FDR and have written books with that standpoint. But it's fair to listen to those who

have another perspective. Our guest today, David Beto, has exactly that perspective.

He believes FDR's legacy included many violations of constitutional rights of the American people.

And he's someone with great credentials. He's a research fellow at the Independent Institute and a

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