FDR Madison Square

In a way, rhetoric such as that used by FDR in his Madison Square Garden speech would probably be quite politically effective today, in view of things such as the current financial crisis and war on terror. By looking at President Obama’s Democratic Nomination Acceptance Speech, one can see certain similarities: “government…should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology… It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work,” or “We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job…,” or “in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class,” or “The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.” Thus, it seems that this kind of rhetoric is what America would listen to right now.