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5. Looking for Looker
- Texas A&M University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
As his presidential prospects gained momentum, Roosevelt and those around him were increasingly concerned with and preoccupied about the public’s perception of his health. He was worried about what he described as “‘a deliberative attempt to create the impression that my health is such as would make it impossible for me to fulfill the duties of President.’” He added that there were some who knew “‘how strenuous have been the three years I have passed as Governor of this State, this is taken with great seriousness in the southern states particularly. I shall appreciate whatever my friends may have to say in their personal correspondence to dispel this perfectly silly piece of propaganda.’”1 As we detail in this chapter, Roosevelt would aid and abet those friends. Letters, many anonymous, spread throughout the country, some even suggesting that Roosevelt was incapable of governing not because of his polio or even from a paralytic stroke but because he suffered from syphilis.2 To address the growing concerns about his health, a special campaign was put into action in order to “prove” Roosevelt’s fitness and to attempt to dispel any lingering suspicions that he was not physically fit to be president. Roosevelt was now closer than ever to his dream of becoming president, and no doubt he was not going to allow his image as a vibrant and active politician to be dashed by a vicious whispering campaign. While the 1932 Democratic National Convention was still nearly a year and a half away, Roosevelt’s plans had crystallized to the point where he felt he needed to quiet some of the whispering. In some cases the whispering had become quite loud—and public—such as a statement by Mrs. Jesse W. Nicholson, president of the National Women’s Democratic Law Enforcement League: “‘This candidate, while mentally qualified for the presidency, isentirelyunfitphysically.’”3 ThatRoosevelthadsuccessfullyquietedmuch of the whispering in New York in just two years was a testament to his wellconceived plan. However, as talk of a possible Roosevelt presidential candidacy grew, the predictable rumors about his health resurfaced. These were national rumors . They needed a national response. Enter Earle Looker. 5 Looking for Looker Earle Looker was a friend of the Oyster Bay Republican Roosevelts, the family from which Eleanor hailed. He was also a writer. Alfred Rollins suggested that Louis Howe may have been the one to mastermind what would transpire between Looker and Roosevelt.4 Hugh Gallagher considered the entire arrangement “cooked up.”5 And Frank Freidel deemed it a “spectacularstunt .”6 ThepreciousfewellipticalprimarysourcesintheRooseveltPresidential Library indicate that a supposedly “innocent” medical review was anything but and that Roosevelt was directly involved in the arrangement to publicize this “objective” medical report, the aim of which was to give him a clean bill of health. The preparations for such a project are most interesting. In a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt on December 16, 1930, Earle Looker wrote the following: Since my trip West, where I have been doing considerable sounding— and the sounds are quite vibrant enough, plans for the story have taken a great step forward. Working with my agent, John Gallishaw, I have been quietly looking about to find the best possible publisher for the particular thing we have in mind, one who is most likely to create the sort of organization we will need for fast and effective distribution of the book. . . . My backers understand exactly what I have in mind and why. Since they are so practically and enthusiastically for you and with me, assuring me I may have just as long as I need to do the very best work I can and insure my peace of mind in many ways, I feel less embarrassment than I otherwise might, in making one request of you in their behalf: That is that, while the Governor can at no time refuse information about himself and that he should of course not do so, that, however, until I am well underway with my story, it would be much appreciated if he would find it possible to discourage any extended work of which his personality—not policies—is subject. . . . As I read this last paragraph back, my dear Mrs. Roosevelt, I suddenly understand why diplomatic language seems so utterly impossible! The request, however, is simple enough; I have merely complicated it because of my intense desire not to make one false step in a matter that seems really very important.7 The plans for the medical report that would attempt to...