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promised publicly not to seek the presidency again in 1908. While he later regretted that
decision, he felt bound by it and vigorously promoted William Howard Taft as his
successor (William Taft: Campaigns and Elections).
William Taft was elected president in 1909. Close friend Roosevelt even had to
convince Taft to run for presidency. Taft agreed to keep up with Roosevelts progressive
policies while in office. Taft only agreed to run for a second term in office again to stand
up to his used-to-be friend, Roosevelt, who claimed Taft was a traitor. As soon as
Roosevelt came back to America, he began to slander everything Taft had done in office.
He claimed the New Nationalism act was a waste of time and often criticized it along
with openly giving speeches as to how he would change the act to make it better, clearly
calling out Tafts lack of correct direction for the future of America. Roosevelt was
clearly losing to Taft, therefore he lost followers in his Progressive Party, so he renamed
it the Bull Moose Party, in comparison to his bull-like personality.
After Roosevelt publically attacked Taft calling him a traitor and stating how he
would take Tafts blemished plans and create more advanced and more suitable plans for
the people of America, the two began to mudsling each other in the media and during
their speeches. Mudslinging is the act of discrediting or releasing vengeful attacks on an
opponent in order to make them look bad, therefore making themselves look better. Taft
and Roosevelt often did this openly, not hiding their hate for each other. They often
slandered one another by calling the other offensive or childish nicknames. Roosevelt
often took a shot at Tafts weight. And In a moment of extreme exasperation, Taft
managed to call TR an extremist, an emotionalist and a neurotic in a single
sentence. In return, in a sentence that proves that wit is a more effective weapon than
name-calling, Roosevelt said, Mr. Taft only discovered that I was dangerous to the
people after I discovered that he was useless to the people. (Clay Jekinsons, The
Bismarck Tribune).
AlthoughWilliamTaftsandTheodoreRooseveltsmudslingingtoeachother
caughtthemediasattentionandwasoneveryheadline,neitherofthetwoformer
presidentswerereelected.Instead,WoodrowWilsonwonthePresidentialElectionof
1912.InspiteofTaftsandRooseveltsrelentlessandendlessbanterandmudslingingto
oneanother,bothoftheireffortsfailedtogetthemreelected,leavingWilsontobecome
thenextPresidentoftheUnitedStates.
"WilliamTaft:CampaignsandElections."MillerCenterofPublicAffairs.Ed.Peri
Arnold.UniversityofVirginia.Web.5Oct.2015.
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nothingnewbutnowithascometo/article_7bde9bea027f11e29b87
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"TheProgressiveEra(18901920)."TheEleanorRooseveltPapersProject.Web.
<https://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/progressiveera.cfm>.
"UptonSinclair'sTheJungle:MuckrakingtheMeatPackingIndustry."Constitutional
RightsFoundation.2008.Web.<http://www.crfusa.org/billofrightsinaction/bria24
1buptonsinclairsthejunglemuckrakingthemeatpackingindustry.html>.