I’ve read six biographies of TR, and don’t find him a “nut” at all. Of course, I wasn’t alive during his presidency, so maybe I would have felt differently back then. But comparing him (again, just based on reading the books and reading the quotes and speeches) to the current crop of pols, he stands far above them.
Well, he was the product of a different era, a more “macho” culture. That aspect garners a lot of admiration today in our wimpy, pussified modern era. One thing is for sure, he would’ve hated our culture today with a passion. His assessment of the two parties, for the Democrats, he would’ve dismissed them as cowards and traitors (100% true) and the GOP as too tentative, weak-kneed and lacking in vision (no doubt he would support our international endeavors — domestically, he would’ve still been a big government type).
As for me, I preferred types like Calvin Coolidge on governing style.