On this day in 1889, Robert Taft was born to the future president, William Howard Taft, at Cincinnati. Now largely forgotten, Taft served as a senator during the wilderness period of the GOP, in which time he made a name for himself by holding to the principles of limited government and foreign policy realism. On this last point, I heartily recommend Phillip Linderman’s recent article on the man dubbed “Mr. Republican”:

Throughout his career, Taft thoughtfully advocated limited engagement abroad that was anchored in the Constitution, directly served the American people, and applied common-sensical financial restraints. Taft did not believe in launching international crusades or bringing democracy to benighted foreigners. He was the antithesis to the romantic Washington notion of “pay any price, bear any burden” global adventure. 

As we like to say around here, read the whole thing!