He said in private, that he knew it would be hard, if not impossible, for him to get the nomination; President Taft had all the machinery on his side.  He knew that it meant parting with many of his best friends; the older politicians would mainly oppose him; he would have to go directly to the people for his support, and rely upon the younger leaders as his lieutenants.

In going straight to the people he was following one of the principles of the Insurgent or Progressive Republicans.  In order to fight the Bosses, and overcome the crooked and secret influence of “big business” in politics, the Progressives were proposing various methods by which it was hoped the people might rule more directly, and prevent a few men from overcoming the wishes of the many.  One of these methods was the direct primary, so that the voters might choose their candidates themselves, instead of leaving it to the absurd conventions, where large crowds of men are hired to fill the galleries, yell for one candidate, and try to out-yell the opposing crowd.

In February, 1912, Roosevelt announced that he was a candidate for the Republican nomination.

“My hat is in the ring,” he said.

The storm of abuse which raged around him now was terrific.  All the friends of fattened monopoly—­and this included many of the most powerful newspapers—­screamed aloud in their fright.  Mostly they assailed him on three counts:  that he was “disloyal” to his friend, Mr. Taft, that he had promised never to run for President again; and that it meant the overthrow of the Republic and the setting up of a monarchy if any man ever disregarded Washington’s example and was President for three terms.

The charge of disloyalty to Mr. Taft does not deserve discussion.  Those who made it never stopped to think that they were saying that a man should set his personal friendships higher than his regard for the nation; that he must support his friend, even if he believed that to do so would work harm to the whole country.  Moreover, if there had been any disloyalty, it had not been on Mr. Roosevelt’s side!  He had remained true to his principles.  As for the promise never to run again, we have already seen what he said about that.  The notion that Washington laid down some law against reelecting a President for more than two terms is an example of how a complete error may pass into popular belief and become a superstition.  Washington said and believed the very opposite.  He did not wish a third term himself, because he was old and weary, but in regard to third terms he seems to have been even more liberal than Roosevelt, who disapproved of three terms in succession.  But Washington distinctly said that he saw no reason why a President should not be reelected as often as the people needed his services.  He said nothing about four, eight, or twelve years, but in discussing this very question in a letter to Lafayette, wrote: 

“I can see no propriety in precluding ourselves from the services of any man, who on some emergency shall be deemed most capable of serving the public.” [Footnote:  Sparks, “Writings of George Washington,” ix. 358.]