Opening theme, why Herbert Hoover?

[GameShowFan]

I honestly do not know if the opening theme song "Those Were The Days" was a real song before the show began in 1971 or if it was made specifically for the show.

In any event, often talk of the Great Depression was shared during the first few seasons of the show and many argue that Herbert Hoover's mishandling of the Depression is why he only was a one term President.

My question is, given how decimating that time in our nation's history was, why did the lyrics say "Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again..."? Calvin Coolidge would have made much more sense as he was President right before Hoover and Coolidge had a fairly good Presidency.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by GameShowFan

I honestly do not know if the opening theme song "Those Were The Days" was a real song before the show began in 1971 or if it was made specifically for the show.

In any event, often talk of the Great Depression was shared during the first few seasons of the show and many argue that Herbert Hoover's mishandling of the Depression is why he only was a one term President.

My question is, given how decimating that time in our nation's history was, why did the lyrics say "Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again..."? Calvin Coolidge would have made much more sense as he was President right before Hoover and Coolidge had a fairly good Presidency.

I am a history buff so I got this one
Hoover gets blamed for the depression. However historians have greatly improved Hoover's standing among presidents. Most blame Coolidge's policies for the depression that happened on Hoover's watch. Many economists were pointing out where the country was going during Coolidge and his campaign slogan was "keep it cool with Coolidge." In other words, don't worry, be happy. Coolidge's ranking has dived over the years while Hoover's has improved.
The reason (IMHO) that Hoover is mentioned in the song because he was the last president before the welfare state. "Didn't need no welfare state, everyone pulled their weight." FDR ushered in big government and the song is reminding people pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps and did not need welfare.
Some presidents dont want to confront controversial subjects of their time and rather pretend they were not happening. I think many historians put Coolidge in that camp. James Buchanan is considered the worst president because he purposely avoided any slavery issues. He pretended like slavery divides were not happening which ended up blowing up on Lincoln's watch. Had Lincoln's predecessors been more proactive who knows what would have happened in preventing the horrific Civil War.