Gracious sakes, Theodore, if you ain’t goin’ in please get off the springboard

President Roosevelt sits on the springboard dipping his feet in the water as Secretary of War William H. Taft, Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of State Elihu Root, Iowa Governor Albert Baird Cummins, and Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette stand behind him on the board waiting. Former Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw stands on land in the background.

comments and context

Comments and Context

This 1908 cartoon from early in the career of Jay H. “Ding” Darling displays his mastery of caricature and composition, as well as conception, for Ding squeezed a slightly new aspect from a familiar subject in the day’s news: whether President Roosevelt would run again, violating his own public declination in 1904, and whom he would support as his successor, was getting to be a tired topic.

The public, however, many of whom would have supported another term for Roosevelt, who had won an impressive victory in 1904, likely fanned the embers of a potential Roosevelt candidacy. Observers, including cartoonists, might be granted a bit of forgiveness for their obsession. The president never gave a hint of changing his mind, and his support of William H. Taft (first in line on the diving board) quite apparent. But Roosevelt resolutely resisted the issuance of repeated statements; he felt each one would indicate a weakened resolve, and his word was his bond.

But anxious aspirants and a hopeful electorate divined reasons to suspect the president’s wavering resolve.

Ding also added a few faces to the chorus usually depicted, whether the men had indicated their ambitions, or observers guessed about “dark horses” of the moment — including Governor Albert Baird Cummins and Senator Robert M. LaFollette.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-21

Creator(s)

Darling, Jay N. (Jay Norwood), 1876-1962

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Page Count

1

Production Method

Printed

Record Type

Image

Resource Type

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation