William Taft had the loftiest goals growing up. He aspired to the highest office his country had to offer. No, not the presidency of the United States. Taft bought into the vision best articulated by his father, who once told him, “To be Chief Justice of the United States is more than to be President in my estimation.” Taft wholeheartedly agreed and charted a path to reach that ultimate plateau. He subsequently felt himself blessed to be named by President Benjamin Harrison to the newly created Federal judgeship on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in his hometown of Cincinnati. Taft now had a lifetime appointment that was just a step removed from his ultimate dream job, and he was still only 34 years old. Life couldn’t be better.
But Taft’s career trajectory took an unexpected turn when another president, William McKinley, called him to Washington to offer him a different kind of job. This was a shocker – an opportunity that would require him to step down from the Bench and move halfway around the world. The U.S. had recently acquired the Philippines at the conclusion of its war with Spain, and McKinley wanted Taft to set up a new civil government. Taft was torn, forced to choose between his lifelong pursuit of judicial prominence and the call to duty by his national leader. In the end, duty won out, and Taft’s career path became muddled. …
Taft’s executive responsibilities eventually landed him in the Cabinet of President Theodore Roosevelt as Secretary of War. When the President offered him his dream job on the Court, he turned it down, as his own chance at the presidency was dangling before his eyes. Taft didn’t want to be President. He knew he probably wouldn’t be very good at it. But Roosevelt was essentially ready to anoint him as his heir apparent, and Taft’s wife, Nellie, and the rest of his family, pushed him to reluctantly follow along. The normally jolly and effective public servant was thus thrust into the worst four years of his life.
Fortunately for Taft (and the country), this was not the end of his story. His sorrowful stint as President was merely an unfortunate interlude. Less than a decade later, the Republicans recaptured the presidency in the form of Warren Harding, who offered Taft his fourth opportunity to join the Supreme Court. This time, nothing would stand in his way, as he not only rose to join the nation’s highest tribunal, but he would do so as its Chief. In becoming the only person in American history to serve as both President and on the Supreme Court, Taft jumped into the role with gusto, not only overseeing some landmark decisions in his nearly nine-year tenure but also remaking many aspects of the Federal judiciary. He was finally in his dream job, and he didn’t disappoint – himself or his country. In the end, William Taft’s lifelong service to his country was indeed remarkable by any estimation, as long as you forget those awful four years in the presidency.