Back in 1933, however, in the depths of the Depression, when an eternally hopeful Democrat was about to take the reins from a widely-hated failure, Rogers commented, "A smile in the White House again, why, it will look like a meal to us." He might have said the same of the transition to Joe Biden earlier this year.
Imagine this: Rogers was by then the country's most popular radio personality and newspaper columnist and number one male movie star. Unfortunately, many Americans today think of Rogers (if they know him at all) as merely a folksy humorist or even a rope-twirling vaudeville star, thanks to the Broadway hit, The Will Rogers Follies. Of course he was all of that but in addition he was also the nation's wisest and most influential political commentator.
He was, in short, the Will of the People.
His views on Republicans, on Wall Street and big banks, on income inequality, and the need for FDR to take bold action, are particularly relevant right now. He expressly called for “more equal distribution of wealth in this country.” When Roosevelt (already influenced immensely by Rogers) was about to be inaugurated, he advised, "We have had years of 'Don't rock the boat.' Go on and sink it if you want to. We just as well be swimming as like we are.… For three years we have had nothing but 'America is fundamentally sound.' It should have been 'America is fundamentally cuckoo.'" (Below, Woody Guthrie, his fellow Oklahoman, who was just on the brink of fame in 1935, sings “Will Rogers Highway.”)
Perhaps the question most often asked in America in the final decade of his life was: Did you see what Will Rogers said? He was the forerunner of late night TV hosts with their topical monologues. Some of his wisecracks have turned to cliche ("All I know is what I read in the papers"); others entered the American language as folk sayings or punch lines:
"Every time Congress makes a joke it's a law, and every time they make a law it's a joke."
“I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”
"We hold the distinction of being the only nation that is goin' to the poorhouse in an automobile."
"This would be a great world to dance in if we didn't have to pay the fiddler."