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Teddy Roosevelt Inspired Him. Now This Governor Wants to Honor Him.

North Dakota's Doug Burgum is helping to build a presidential library in his state.

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Theodore Roosevelt doesn't have a presidential library. Yet.

A nonprofit foundation in North Dakota, with the help of technologists, historians and Gov. Doug Burgum, is working to correct that oversight.

When Burgum talks about public service, he sounds a lot like Roosevelt, who said, "It is not the critic who counts. ... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood."

Burgum says that "anybody with a phone and two thumbs can be a critic." He advises public officials to "stay above it" and muster "the courage to jump in."

He did just that in 2016, when the business man made a last-minute run for political office. He tells those stories, plus reflects on his first 18 months in office, on this episode of "In the Arena," a podcast about public leadership.

Listen to the full interview below. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts  or Stitcher, or bookmark the "In the Arena" page.

 


 
  • Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation
 

Previous Guests:

*CORRECTION: A previous version of this incorrectly stated that Burgum mortgaged his family's farm to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign.

CEO of e.Republic and publisher of Governing.