Why did many Americans view Taft as a weak president

He was the only person to hold both offices. ... Generally more conservative than Roosevelt, Taft also lacked his expansive view of presidential power, and was ... By 1912, Roosevelt, dissatisfied with Taft's presidency, had formed his own ... As U.S. president from 1909 to 1913 and chief justice of the U.S. ...

Explanation:

Against Taft's accomplishments must be weighed several failures: his gaff with respect to the Payne-Aldrich Tariff; his inability to obtain Canadian reciprocity and general arbitration treaties; his poor handling of the Ballinger-Pinchot affair; his failure to follow the Roosevelt policies; and his treatment of the ...

Taft's weight ballooned while he was president, and with each failure, his weight increased. Roosevelt made fun of his weight, and also made light of his intellect. Taft sank into the loneliness of the office and found himself without a friend in the Republican Party or among the Progressives.

William Taft's view of presidential power was that it had to be in the Constitution or that Congress had to give it to the president. Taft denied the idea that presidents have an "inherent special power" because the president is the "only public official with a national constituency."

Often overlooked in the record of Taft's presidency were his achievements, including his trust-busting efforts, his empowering of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to set railroad rates, and his support of constitutional amendments mandating a federal income tax and the direct election of senators by the people ...

b. 155 enlisted men and no officers