Life — July 11, 1907 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Page from the Diary of Little William Taft" This satirical diary mocks President William Howard Taft's weight gain and political troubles. The cartoon shows Taft as "Ham Sandwich"—a caricature emphasizing his notorious obesity, surrounded by scattered books labeled with policy issues. The diary entries chronicle Taft's week of mismanagement: he's investigated for allegedly being a "beef trust" monopolist, loses his Mantle (possibly referencing Theodore Roosevelt's political legacy), struggles with advisors including someone named Loeb, and is generally depicted as incompetent and buffoonish. The satire attacks Taft's presidency through bodily humor and documented policy failures, portraying him as overwhelmed, indecisive, and conspiratorially entangled—a far cry from the vigorous Roosevelt administration that preceded him.