Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small government conservative and also as a man who said very little and had a rather dry sense of humor. Coolidge restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of his predecessor's administration, and left office with considerable popularity. 'I think the American people want a solemn ass as a President,' he once told Ethel Barrymore, 'and I think I will go along with them.' Some historians suggest that Coolidge's image was created deliberately as a campaign tactic, while others believe his withdrawn and quiet behavior to be natural, deepening after the death of his son in 1924.