S8 Ep144: Warren G. Harding: The Available Man from Ohio — David Pietrusza — With Theodore Roosevelt deceased and Wilson incapacitated, Republicans sought a viable candidate for what they perceived as

Warren G. Harding: The Available Man from Ohio — David Pietrusza — With Theodore Roosevelt deceased and Wilson incapacitated, Republicans sought a viable candidate for what they perceived as a favorable electoral year. Warren G. Harding, a small-town newspaper publisher from the critical swing state of Ohio, emerged as the "available man," despite ranking only fifth or sixth among preferred contenders. Harding adopted a strategy of accommodation, carefully avoiding alienation of competing party factions. His deeply fraught personal life remained strategically shielded from public scrutiny and campaign discourse. 1922 TAFT HARDING HAY