Books: Alter presents right story about ‘right man’

Many consider Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s ascension to the presidency in March 1933 to be the ideal example of the right man at the right moment — in this case, an America mired in the Great Depression.

Newsweek writer Jonathan Alter uses “The Defining Moment” to examine that thesis, with his book divided into two main themes — FDR’s pre-White House years, and how those years influenced his early actions once he gained the presidency.

While his influential mother, Sara, infused him with confidence, his wife, Eleanor, helped make him more liberal and open to new views. Of course, his being stricken with polio in 1921 was also a factor. Eleanor thought that without polio, FDR would have been a “president of a different kind,” one less sensitive to those who were affected by things like poverty and disease.

When Roosevelt went for the White House in 1932, he was not beloved by his own party, and many voters picked him only to register dislike against President Herbert Hoover. Yet a victorious Roosevelt embraced the task before him, beginning with his famed “fear itself” speech.

Alter describes FDR’s style during the first 100 days as “throwing things against the wall to see what stuck.” Many of Roosevelt’s attempts were successful, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps. He was also willing to borrow from others — his plan to save the banking industry essentially came from Hoover officials.

Mostly, though, Roosevelt tried to change the country’s outlook. Alter quotes journalist John Franklin Carter as saying Roosevelt accomplished “three magnificent things” for the country — hope, action and self-respect. The debate about FDR’s overall legacy is an endless one, but Alter’s book provides a strong argument for why he was the “right man.”