This is how Theodore Roosevelt's cult of personality stays alive

Hey, did you know that Teddy once killed a lion? It's true. And they are going to put it on display again soon. People haven't seen this lion for two decades.

Hey, did you know that Teddy really loved football?

Hey, did you know that Teddy was a really avid outdoorsman?

Hey, did you know that Teddy once was giving a speech, someone shot him, and he kept on speaking?

Hey, did you know (pick your favorite wholly-divorced-from-governmental-policy-related-trivia and place it here)?

I could just imagine if Ronald Reagan had shot a lion. The Washington Compost certainly wouldn't be celebrating it, that's for sure. They would put quotes from some PETA whacko in the first paragraph, in the second paragraph, and that's how they would close the article in the last paragraph. In short, it would be a hit piece. But what makes Reagan so different than Teddy? Why would progressive journalists treat the two so differently? For starters, the two men had completely opposing viewpoints of the constitution. One man wanted to respect the constitution, and the other wanted to shred it.

Every time some progressive journalist (unrelated to elections) trots out Ronald Reagan, it's so that they can take a crap on his grave. But every time some progressive journalist trots out Theodore Roosevelt, (unrelated to elections) it's so that they can puff him up and parade him around like it's a sequel to Weekend at Bernie's. Did you read the article?

I read the article. Man I feel good. That was some good crack, man. I feel so good about myself. I feel so good about life. I feel so good about killing lions. I feel good about taxidermy. I feel good about the Smithsonian, because you know, it's a government institution. It's a great institution, the government owns it. I really feel good about the Washington Post and that Sarah Kaplan, she's a great writer. But most of all, I really feel good about our 26th president - the puff piece worked. I feel great! Wow he was a good man, it's a good thing he never was in a position to actually govern. All he did was shoot lions and go out on safari! He was a man with a plan! He wasn't one of those crazy whackjob Tea Partiers, you know, with their old dusty constitutions, you know! He made a lot of sense!

So how do you keep small government people loving a big government man? Keep the big government man's big government views a secret - and more importantly, keep the big government man's big government activities a secret. That's why his cult of personality has persisted for over 100 years. If the truth about TR were ever told in a wide-scale fashion, only progressive democrat voters would want anything to do with him. Ask me this question: If Lyndon Baines Johnson shot a lion, why should I care about that? In the article, it says:

“What story did this lion and Roosevelt want to tell us?” Harvey wondered. That's what he aims to conserve.

Of course, the only stories that we should allow to be out there, are all of the puff piece, human interest stories. Get Theodore Roosevelt as far away from any notions of government as you possibly can. And these are the same people who still, still can't get over Iran Contra!!! The exact same people. I can guarantee you, that your children's children's children will know all the details about Iran Contra, but they won't know a thing about Theodore Roosevelt's policies - not deep in the details. They will only know the surface-level stuff. The flowery stuff. That which they can make smell good. Hey did you know TR was a conservationist? Yeah, it's great.

NO! Conservation is not a direct pre-cursor to radical environmentalism. We can't have people making that connection! Let's get back to the fluffy stuff.

Hey, did you know that Teddy once killed a lion? I hear he really loved football too. It's really great. Life's great. Hey, did you know that Teddy once killed a lion? And he loved the outdoors, too. That's about all I know. Why am I repeating myself? Well, that's all that matters. Because Teddy once killed a lion.

I couldn't tell you how many executive orders he issued, I couldn't tell you how he related to congress. I couldn't tell you the contents of his New Nationalism speech, nor could I tell you anything about the Progressive Party. I couldn't tell you if he stayed within the constitutional limits placed on the executive branch or if he worked to undermine those safeguards. I just couldn't tell you. I just know he was a manly man. That's all I know. I only know that he killed a lion. What else is there to know? What else matters?