ABSTRACT
Taft was physically the largest president in U.S. history. The public viewed him as a big, good-humored president who was “always smiling” (Bumgarner 1994: 167). However, he is also remembered as “cautious, somewhat lethargic,” a “natural follower,” and “temperamentally unsuited for the intensely political character of the presidency” (Brinkley and Dyer 2004: 286 and 195). He weighed 340 pounds at his heaviest.
