Theodore Roosevelt came to understand this. After he discovered how the other half lived and set about attacking various corrupt interests, he was repeatedly foiled by his opponents’ superior understanding of parliamentary maneuvers as well as the judges and reporters under their control. His friend Jacob Riis would say that “honesty was not enough.” To eventually change the political and economic landscape of the country, Roosevelt would have to not just be right, but be savvier and more skilled than those who wished to stop him.
