Yeah, Ebbie, there is a bit of a parallel there, although FDR's little peccadillos were never made public, at least to the best of my knowledge. Hillary seems to be finding her own way. Eleanor was a real force back then.

We've seen how some people are reacting to the first black president (actually, mixed race). I wonder how they'll react to the first woman president….

Absolutely fascinating episode last night. I found parts of it really tough to watch. I contracted polio when I was two years and three months old, and although, thank God, I was too young to really remember being in the throes of the disease itself, the show did stir a few creepy memory traces. Later, there was lots of physical therapy, and the constant, "Do your exercises!" from parents, doctors, etc. The belief back then was that with lots of exercise, strength in the muscles could be restored. It could help a little—partially restore some muscle tissue. But it was the motor nerves that the disease attacked, and—well—that was that. For the most part, one simply had to learn to adapt and try to find new ways of doing things that most people just took for granted.

In tonight's episode, we're getting up to things I definitely remember, from arguments and discussions between my father and various friends and acquaintances, hearing FDR's speeches on the radio, and particularly his "fireside chats" when he would calmly explain to the people what he was striving to do, why it was good for the people and the country as a whole, and who and why certain people were trying to block what he wanted to do.

When one of FDR's programs went into effect, it worked! People had confidence in him. Kept voting him back in.

I sure hope President Obama is watching this series….

Don Firth