Al Smith and American Healthcare
Today is a good time to revisit a line from a 1928 speech by the great Al Smith (1873-1944).
I shall continue my sympathetic interest in the advancement of progressive legislation for the protection and advancement of working men and women. Promotion of proper care of maternity, infancy and childhood and the encouragement of those scientific activities of the National Government which advance the safeguards of public health, are so fundamental as to need no expression from me other than my record as legislator and as Governor.
- Al Smith, 1928
Smith, known as "a man for the people", was denied the presidency (most notably in 1928) by an uneducated electorate that chose to believe fear-driven propaganda.
The famous artist Norman Rockwell painted “Al Smith was fellowman to every man” after Smith's death in 1945. In the painting, Smith is surrounded by children representing diverse backgrounds.