We are a young party, and we must have young leadership. -- Eleanor Roosevelt, 1956
What is there to admire most about Eleanor Roosevelt? Her advocacy for civil rights and human dignity? The fact that she was tough enough to stare down the Soviets in shepherding through the U.N.'s Declaration of Human Rights? The fact that she understood the importance of Americans treating its own people fairly if it intended to go around the world lecturing everyone else about what they should do? The fact that she was tough enough to drive from Nashville to rural Tennessee with a KKK threat around every turn of the road with no other muscle than a 74-year-old woman? The fact that she fought for the most unfortunate in our society and did everything to improve their lives through education, job training, nutrition, and health care? OK, maybe it's just the whole package -- open, warm, dedicated, hard-working, resilient, practical, and -- yes -- beautiful.
One day her secretary came into to say that Frank Sinatra was on the phone. "Find out who he is and what he wants," she replied. When she went on television with Frank he said, "If you could say one word to 25 million people, what would it be?" Her answer: Hope.
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