FDR May Be Invoked This Election, But He Won't Be Repeated

Yet, as president, he ultimately built his legacy as a defender of the poor and the architect of that great social safety net known as the New Deal. During the Great Depression, in the poorest homes in America, the entire family would huddle around the radio eager to hear what "Mr. Roosevelt" had to say.

Historians say John Kennedy was the television president. If so, Roosevelt was undoubtedly the radio president. A gifted communicator, FDR spoke confidently with a knack for calming people's fears -- especially in uncertain times.

Despite a cushy upbringing, Roosevelt made it his business to care for the poor and downtrodden. For this, he paid a price.

While Trump hasn't, at least up to now, experienced any sort of backlash for championing the interests of blue-collar workers in states hard hit by, for instance, the loss in manufacturing jobs, Roosevelt was seen for decades as nothing less than a traitor to his class. According to Willard, it is one of the reasons that Harvard -- for much of the 20th century -- didn't do more to celebrate one of its most famous alumni.

"Roosevelt got us through the Depression without turning us into a fascist or communist state," Willard said. "He invented the United Nations and the international finance banking system. He created solutions that lasted."

FDR also made mistakes, such as the "court packing" controversy and the ghastly internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Still, overall, historians consistently rank him in the top three of U.S. presidents alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Willard is not optimistic that we'll see that kind of greatness again.

"We need a president who can reignite America's story," he said. "Frankly, I think it's going to take a while. These days, we tend to demonize those we disagree with, and that builds a structural barrier to forging compromise and making deals."

He's right. We need candidates who grasp the genius of America and accept that they owe the country an incalculable debt -- and not the other way around.

Unfortunately, this year, there isn't likely to be such a person on the ballot.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.