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FDR: A New Political Life
284 pages, Paperback
Published November 25, 2025
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February 16, 2026
FDR: A New Political Life
by
David T. Beito
Over the years historians have treated FDR as the Wizard of Oz - a President of mythical proportions, but assiduously ignoring the curtain. Beito takes a look behind the curtain. This is a thumbnail sketch of FDR's many character flaws, manipulative character, personal hubris and vanity, lack of guiding principle beyond personal gratification, and the repercussions that accrued across his years in office - economic, cultural, societal, militarily during WWII. FDR prolonged the Depression. He ignored civil rights, and what few minor actions he did take, reluctantly, were cosmetic that did nothing to advance civil rights. He was petty and vindictive, using his office and the powers of the government (the IRS, FBI and regulatory agencies) to ruin and delegitimize opposition and dissent. He decided policies on personal whims and feelings, often counter to knowledgeable advisors. He scapegoated failures and unsuccessful programs, of which there were many. His racial animus retarded civil rights developments for years. His antisemitism cost lives that could have been saved.
Beito is honest in his narrative. For example, he refutes the long standing charge among contrarians that FDR knew in advance of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and allowed it to happen. However he does sometimes impute implicit fault where negative consequences are arguable regarding FDR’s war time leadership. For example, the Lend-Lease program engineered to bolster Britain was a masterful stroke in the circumstances of the domestic political reality of the time and the reality of Britain’s war against Germany. Beito suggests it was FDR conniving to provoke a reaction from Germany that would justify US entry into the war. That may have been a factor, but it was not the driving impetus. However, the overview approach taken does not allow sufficient space for a thorough discussion of individual events and topics.
In actuality, FDR was a disaster domestically, and recognition of the many failures and consequent costs of his programs and policies was increasingly widespread. Had it not been for the war, and the incompetent Wilkie campaign, he probably would not have been reelected to his 3rd term in 1940.
On the other hand, FDR was a generally effective war leader. That is not to say he did not make mistakes, and like any historical figure there is always room to second guess with hind-sight. Domestically a disaster with far reaching consequences; but as a war-time President, good – maybe not excellent, but not bad... with some glaring exceptions. His dealings with Stalin and his refusal to act in any way regarding Jewish extermination in Europe are cases on point. As early as the late 30’s he shrugged off proposals to assist Jews despite clear awareness of their peril. Once war broke out and the existential threat to Jews and others became increasingly unmistakable, he reacted to proposals to act with the dismissive assertion that swift victory would solve the problem. He would not otherwise lift a finger. The long term and dire consequences of his favorable relations with Stalin are inexplicable, except perhaps as an attribute of his confidence in his ability to schmooze and charm, as he always had to get his way. Even when confronted with direct, irrefutable evidence of such events as the Katyn Massacre in Poland directed by Stalin, he denied it was real.
The book is an honest, and revealing, peek behind the curtain. So many of our presidents in the modern era have been shallow, vain, thin-skinned opportunists who are guided by political self-interest rather than principled integrity. Wilson was the proto-type, deplorable in so many aspects leaving a precedential legacy that has been foundational to so-called ‘modern’ progressive Presidents ever since and antithetical to Constitutional norms and limits. FDR is an evolutionary product of the Wilsonian example, and not the last. A number of our Presidents since then have not only continued in that Wilson/FDR tradition but expanded it. Not a good thing.
by
David T. Beito
Over the years historians have treated FDR as the Wizard of Oz - a President of mythical proportions, but assiduously ignoring the curtain. Beito takes a look behind the curtain. This is a thumbnail sketch of FDR's many character flaws, manipulative character, personal hubris and vanity, lack of guiding principle beyond personal gratification, and the repercussions that accrued across his years in office - economic, cultural, societal, militarily during WWII. FDR prolonged the Depression. He ignored civil rights, and what few minor actions he did take, reluctantly, were cosmetic that did nothing to advance civil rights. He was petty and vindictive, using his office and the powers of the government (the IRS, FBI and regulatory agencies) to ruin and delegitimize opposition and dissent. He decided policies on personal whims and feelings, often counter to knowledgeable advisors. He scapegoated failures and unsuccessful programs, of which there were many. His racial animus retarded civil rights developments for years. His antisemitism cost lives that could have been saved.
Beito is honest in his narrative. For example, he refutes the long standing charge among contrarians that FDR knew in advance of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and allowed it to happen. However he does sometimes impute implicit fault where negative consequences are arguable regarding FDR’s war time leadership. For example, the Lend-Lease program engineered to bolster Britain was a masterful stroke in the circumstances of the domestic political reality of the time and the reality of Britain’s war against Germany. Beito suggests it was FDR conniving to provoke a reaction from Germany that would justify US entry into the war. That may have been a factor, but it was not the driving impetus. However, the overview approach taken does not allow sufficient space for a thorough discussion of individual events and topics.
In actuality, FDR was a disaster domestically, and recognition of the many failures and consequent costs of his programs and policies was increasingly widespread. Had it not been for the war, and the incompetent Wilkie campaign, he probably would not have been reelected to his 3rd term in 1940.
On the other hand, FDR was a generally effective war leader. That is not to say he did not make mistakes, and like any historical figure there is always room to second guess with hind-sight. Domestically a disaster with far reaching consequences; but as a war-time President, good – maybe not excellent, but not bad... with some glaring exceptions. His dealings with Stalin and his refusal to act in any way regarding Jewish extermination in Europe are cases on point. As early as the late 30’s he shrugged off proposals to assist Jews despite clear awareness of their peril. Once war broke out and the existential threat to Jews and others became increasingly unmistakable, he reacted to proposals to act with the dismissive assertion that swift victory would solve the problem. He would not otherwise lift a finger. The long term and dire consequences of his favorable relations with Stalin are inexplicable, except perhaps as an attribute of his confidence in his ability to schmooze and charm, as he always had to get his way. Even when confronted with direct, irrefutable evidence of such events as the Katyn Massacre in Poland directed by Stalin, he denied it was real.
The book is an honest, and revealing, peek behind the curtain. So many of our presidents in the modern era have been shallow, vain, thin-skinned opportunists who are guided by political self-interest rather than principled integrity. Wilson was the proto-type, deplorable in so many aspects leaving a precedential legacy that has been foundational to so-called ‘modern’ progressive Presidents ever since and antithetical to Constitutional norms and limits. FDR is an evolutionary product of the Wilsonian example, and not the last. A number of our Presidents since then have not only continued in that Wilson/FDR tradition but expanded it. Not a good thing.
Displaying 1 of 1 review