Doris Kearns Goodwin on The Bully Pulpit
Have you been watching The Roosevelts on PBS? Big Think Expert Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses Theodore Roosevelt’s “bully pulpit.”
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Historian and best-selling author Doris Kearns Goodwin discusses the Theodore Roosevelt’s bully pulpit in her Big Think interview:
“It’s still a tool that a president has to use, especially when things are so paralyzed in Washington. The only way you’re gonna get those characters to move is public pressure to say we’ve had enough, we have to move forward on some of these issues.”
One thing to remember is that Roosevelt’s word “bully” isn’t the same as how we define it today. Instead, it was T.R.’s word for “awesome” or “splendid” or “great.” The bully pulpit was his idea of the presidency as a terrific platform for engaging and educating a deadlocked Congress.
Watch the full interview here:
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