My dad came out of the Roosevelt era and the Depression. One person and one party made a difference in his life. That's what everybody forgot when they called my father and other people political bosses.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My own special relationship with America began at an early age. My father, a fellow journalist, named me after Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
My father was an ardent socialist for many years.
My parents were admirers of President Roosevelt and the New Deal. Their parents and most of our relatives and neighbors were Republicans, so they were self-conscious in their liberalism and took it as emblematic of their ability to think for themselves.
As I've gotten older, I've gotten more liberal, and my father is increasingly conservative. It's so shocking to me because I always thought we had the same politics. The day I realized we voted for different presidents, I practically fell out of my chair.
I did have two dads; one was a socialist, and one was a capitalist. I really decided I would rather be a capitalist.
I was born during the Depression in a little community just outside Waco, and I grew up listening to Franklin Roosevelt on the radio.
My dad was phenomenal. Born in Mexico, lived poor, didn't graduate from college, and becomes head of a car company and then governor of a state. I can't imagine I would have ever thought about running for office had I not seen my dad do it.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was fortunate: He didn't take office until nearly four years after the Wall Street crash, by which time the Republicans' responsibility for the Depression was taken for granted.
My dad is an unbelievable entrepreneur who balanced his life as a father and a president of two very successful companies.
No one in my family had ever been in politics. My dad thought it was something that got in the way.