The only thing we have to fear is our media culture

I’ve been trying to watch the latest Ken Burns documentary on “The Roosevelts” that aired last week. I studied the New Deal extensively as an undergraduate and am lightly familiar with both FDR’s and Teddy Roosevelt’s careers. I can say one thing pretty definitively now.

The Roosevelts could never happen again. Ever.

Why? Well, for multiple reasons, but the most obvious one is that they simply couldn’t stand the media scrutiny.

In an era when President Barack Obama is criticized for accidentally holding a latte while saluting Marines as he got off Air Force One (oh, and the August doldrums He Wore a Tan Suit Crisis), we are not in a very forgiving political culture. We get bogged down in stupid stuff and have too much Twitter time on our hands.

Here’s what the Roosevelts might be subjected to had they existed today.

This story was originally published September 28, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "The only thing we have to fear is our media culture."