Book Review: Coolidge | Gene Healy | Cato Institute

Book Review: Coolidge | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: "If there was ever a time when the president could simply preside, it has long passed. As early as the Eisenhower era, political scientist Clinton Rossiter observed that the public had come to see the federal chief executive as “a combination of scoutmaster, Delphic oracle, hero of the silver screen, and father of the multitudes.” Under the pressure of public demands, the office had accrued a host of responsibilities over and above its constitutional ones: “World Leader,” “Protector of the Peace,” “Chief Legislator,” “Manager of Prosperity,” “Voice of the People,” and more."

"In politics, it’s often easier to “do something,” however unwise, than it is to hold firm:"

"But unlike modern supply-siders, Coolidge attacked the beast head-on, instead of hoping to “starve” it indirectly."

"The tax cuts that Coolidge and Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon orchestrated took millions of people off the tax rolls. Unlike Mitt Romney, Coolidge and Mellon didn’t worry that they’d created a new horde of “takers.”"

"Coolidge “removed William Burns, the head of the Bureau of Investigation, and curtailed wiretapping, one of Burns’s favored tools.”"

"Coolidge ordered the release of Wilson’s remaining political prisoners."

"for all Coolidge’s faults, “the itch to run things did not afflict him….He never made inflammatory speeches….No bughouse professors, sweating fourth-dimensional economics, were received at the White House.”"