What Do Teddy Roosevelt & Jimmy Carter Have in Common?

A toothy smile. 

When the Third Time is NOT the Charm

In American political history, only two presidential candidates have ever received a major party nomination on three occasions and lost every time: Henry Clay, who ran and lost the elections of 1824, 1832 and 1844 and William Jennings Bryan, who lost the election of 1896, 1900 and 1908. 

Both men were tenacious firebrands, fierce orators and accomplished in their respective political careers. Yet, perhaps their most apparent similarity was that they were both opportunists, whose pursuit of the Presidency bordered on the pathological. How else could each have come so close to the White House three times?

Although they were of two different eras, Bryan revered Henry Clay and featured a portrait of him in the living room of his home. Bryan, who lost to William McKinley twice in 1896 and 1900, would run for his third time in 1908 against Teddy Roosevelt's hand picked successor, William Howard Taft -- the below cartoon from '08 depicts his yearning for the Presidency as TR interrupts Bryan's daydream.  

2 Roosevelt Homes Within 4 Blocks

Most historians are aware of Franklin Roosevelt's townhouse at 47-49 East 65th Street on the Upper East Side of New York City, which is now owned by Hunter College's Public Policy Institute. However, few know of its close proximity to the residence of another Roosevelt -- President Theodore Roosevelt. Yes, TR occupied many different residences during his upbringing and subsequent political career in New York City, but it is interesting to note that his last residence in the city was a townhouse on Madison Avenue and 62nd street which he occupied until 1904 -- only one year and 4 blocks from the house occupied by his fifth cousin from 1905-1941. 

While TR's house was torn down in 1955 (now the present-day site of Church's Shoes), these 2 historical townhouses existed within 4 blocks of each other for several years, a little-noted and unique piece of New York Presidential history. 

The below clipping is from the New York Times, October 22, 1905, and shows a picture of TR's townhouse: