If You Ask Me
by Eleanor Roosevelt

Certainly. He should never have been removed. It has done us much harm to lose his scientific brilliance in the service of the Government.

I was lonely as a little girl, and later when I was a young married woman I was still extremely shy; but it was when I went to the White House and became a public figure that the feeling you mention began. It was often hard to recognize myself as a public figure, and this made me feel lost down inside. After a while I got accustomed to it and began to look objectively at the figure that had been created and to hope I could fulfill all that was expected of that figure.

When I was young, my dear, girls did not have dates with boys; and I have absolutely no recollection of any occasions of this kind until I came out in society at the age of eighteen and gradually got to know a great many young men and women.

None whatsoever as far as I know. No doctor ever told me anything of the kind, and I can't remember my husband having an illness which in any way resembled such a thing, so I doubt that there is any truth in this rumor which has been started lately.

I think the family needs come first when your children are growing up. What you can do for the community you do because it affects the life of your own family and the lives of the other families in the community; but this must come after personal family obligations are fulfilled. The thinking and growing on your own happen, I find, as you do things for others.

If I remember correctly, all I did was thank him for having given me his time for an interview and granting me a visa for visiting his country, which I found extremely interesting. I could look up a copy of the note, but it is filed away by now.

I have met her many times. I like Miss Maxwell very much. She has a real gift for giving parties, and I have always enjoyed her.

It strikes me as a good one. He is a highly intelligent man with a great knowledge of the world as a whole and a thorough understanding of the problems of our people and of other areas of the world. I do not feel, however, that these are the only qualifications needed to make a good President, and I would have to watch him for some time with this position in mind before making a decision.

There is one written by Lorena Hickok called The Story of Franklin D. Roosevelt (Grosset & Dunlap). I think you will find it well written and easy to read.