And now, America's number one show on pop culture and politics.

This is the Michael Medved Show.

And another great day in this greatest nation on God's Green Earth and a great day to confront a great question of all of our presidents of the United States, which one counts as the most fascinating, the most impressive, the most compelling, and the most endearing.

I think there is general consensus. It would be Lincoln. I mean, basically no one

like Lincoln in all of our history. But who would be in second place and we will leave out

the current incumbent President Trump because as of this telling, his presidency is still

unfolding. It would be another president who is up there on Rushmore, and no, not Washington, who is

so great that he seems inapproachable and almost like a statue, and no, not Jefferson

with his complexities and his many flaws.

It would be that fourth Rushmore president, the president we celebrate today.

That would be Theodore Roosevelt, the All-American Boy.

And that music that you're hearing,

it'll be a hot time in the old town tonight,

was used by Theodore Roosevelt, as something of a theme song.

Why? Because it was used for his regiment, the Rough Riders, before they went to Cuba in the Spanish-American War, then played at virtually every rally until he got rather sick of it while he was

running for governor of New York in 1898 before he became president, of course. And I need to answer a

couple of questions at the very beginning.

First of all, the idea that I call him Theodore Roosevelt and not Teddy Roosevelt, as he's often known.

Well, that's because President Roosevelt always loathed the name Teddy.

When he was a tiny boy, he was called Tidi, and he didn't like it. And he never liked being called Teddy. And he once declared, anyone who calls me Teddy

doesn't know me at all. And I certainly hope that by the end of this broadcast, you will know

President Theodore Roosevelt well.

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