Edmund Morris - The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt-Random House

Ike was articulate, especially with the written word, and he suffered from a violent temper. Forced to suppress that temper in his dealings with others, he committed his frustrations to paper.

And with McKinley’s assassination, there was suddenly, in Theodore Roosevelt, a President who reformers felt was one of their own—their moral leader, in fact: the very embodiment of the popular will, of the spirit of reform, of Progressivism, was in the White House.

Roosevelt relished being president. His buoyant energy and unshakable optimism transmitted itself to everyone he met.

Roosevelt was a master at simplifying complicated issues and bringing people into his confidence. His cultivated delivery and easy manner made the audience feel they were participating directly at the highest level of government.

The Roosevelt who delivered those lines was a far different man from the callow young assistant secretary of the Navy who had run for vice president in 1920.

When you come into the presence of a leader of men, you know you have come into the presence of fire; that it is best not incautiously to touch that man; that there is something that makes it dangerous to cross him. —WOODROW WILSON