SECOND TERM FAILURE TO BE RELEVANT: 4/8: A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency o1 Grover Cleveland Hardcover – by Troy Senik (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 10 June 2024
⏱️ 7 minutes
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Summary
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Iron-Turbulent-Improbable-Presidency/dp/1982140747?ref_=ast_author_dp#customerReviews
Grover Cleveland’s political career—a dizzying journey that saw him rise from obscure lawyer to president of the United States in just three years—was marked by contradictions. A politician of uncharacteristic honesty and principle, he was nevertheless dogged by secrets from his personal life. A believer in limited government, he pushed presidential power to its limits to combat a crippling depression, suppress labor unrest, and resist the forces of American imperialism. A headstrong executive who alienated Congress, political bosses, and even his own party, his stubbornness nevertheless became the key to his political appeal. The most successful Democratic politician of his era, he came to be remembered most fondly by Republicans.
1888 AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm John Bachelor with Troy Senec, his new book is a man of iron, the turbulent life and |
| 0:09.4 | improbable presidency of Grover Cleveland. |
| 0:12.6 | Grover Cleveland entered the White House as a bachelor, lifelong bachelor, |
| 0:16.0 | 48 years old. |
| 0:17.6 | However, he was a man who'd spent his life in pursuit of discipline, of hard work, he never actually |
| 0:26.5 | relaxed as far as his compatriots could understand. He worked till 2 a.m. 3 a.m. |
| 0:31.8 | until he was persuaded by the why the widow of and the daughter |
| 0:40.2 | of a man who was a good friend of his named Oscar in Buffalo. He took upon the role of protecting this family and its finances after Oscar died. |
| 0:52.0 | And the daughter, when he became the effective executor of the estate, was |
| 0:57.6 | 11 years old and her name is Francis. However, by the time he was in the White House, and importantly the spring of 1885 in the White House, |
| 1:10.0 | Francis was a major feature of his life. |
| 1:14.0 | Francis is the most celebrated First Lady |
| 1:19.0 | that we have in the 19th century. |
| 1:22.0 | It's amazing. And Troy, I did not know about her. It's just |
| 1:25.4 | a revelation and a half how she was so popular with the American people they |
| 1:31.4 | they were actually willing to forgive Grover his |
| 1:34.3 | excesses. That's very true. I mean Grover Cleveland, we should say this about |
| 1:41.7 | him. |
| 1:43.0 | Grover Cleveland comes to the White House respected because of this sort of iron will that he |
| 1:48.1 | displays in Buffalo and New York State and then in the White House. |
| 1:51.8 | He doesn't necessarily come to it loved, however. This is not the world's most accessible personality. |
| 1:57.0 | So when he marries Francis, very young, she's in her early 20s, very beautiful. |
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