Roosevelt's wide-reaching empathy allowed his leadership to personally touch millions of Americans. Through his fireside chats and other personal connections with Americans, Roosevelt redefined the President's role and the relationship between the President and the people.
"I can hardly remember a mealtime when the conversation was not dominated by what Franklin D. Roosevelt was doing . . . it was as though he was a part of the family and we were talking about what he did that day . . ."
-Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's brother
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"He organized this country so well, and then when I was in the third grade, I got to see him driving down the streets of New Jersey . . . And it was just such a pleasure to see the President come through our little town . . . like he cared about us little people too . . ." |
"[President Roosevelt] knew what people were feeling and he tried to comfort them and you could argue, I suppose, that that’s above and beyond the role of the President, but it's what the times called for . . . those were times when people needed to be comforted and reassured. They were tough days but he had the ability to just touch people with his voice and assure them that things were going to get better." |
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"When talking to American citizens or in his Fireside Chats his head would nod and his hands would move in simple, natural, comfortable gestures. His face would smile and light up as though he were actually sitting on the front porch or in the parlor." |