Posted on 12/09/2010 7:44:30 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Most people therefore can only admire the myth of JFK that has been created, not the reality of JFK that was.
Most of the American public did not know about those things then the newspapers never reported his cheating. I have always believed LBJ had a hand in his death then I came across this.
http://viewzone2.com/lbj/indexx.html
JFK represents the final victory of “Style over Substance.”
For all his flaws JFK generally had the best interests of the US as his main goal. His cutting the highest marginal tax rates from 91% to 70% sparked an economic boom. Could you imagine how things would be different if Obama had been handling the Cuban Missile Crisis? Were he alive today JFK would be shunned by his own party.
Look at the competition:
LBJ was rude, corrupt, and “responsible” for Vietnam, to the extent that fighting a war with a goal of breaking even can be considered responsible.
Nixon was . . . Nixon.
Ford was not a bad man, but he was tainted by having been appointed by Nixon and then pardoning Nixon.
Jimmy Carter was not only the least capable president of his century, but he proved his spinelessness to all of our enemies.
Ronald Reagan was a great leader, but half of our country is upset that he toppled communism (outside America at least, although he didn’t notice its dangerous growth in Kenya, Indonesia, Hawaii, and eventually Chicago) and dismantled a small portion of the welfare state.
Bush - Clinton - Bush - too recent to have been processed.
And now instead of a real American in our White House, we have a terrorist-loving anti-American thug who genuinely believes in a socialist command economy with himself in charge and who lacks even the most fundamental leadership or management skills.
JFK is not my favorite former president, not by a long shot, but he wasn’t a terrible person. That puts him way above Clinton and Obama (and Carter as an ex-President), even ignoring JFK’s tragic murder.
Believe me, the scorn for Reagan pre-dated his first day in office.
PT 109.................. Party time? Having a good time in the boat, not being on watch and being rammed by a Destroyer you didn’t hear or see? = Hero? Dereliction of duty if you ask me. I never bought into PT 109 Legend. One of my relatives was in the one of the PT Squadrons assigned to the Leyte Gulf area, he didn’t buy into it either.
His book : “Profiles in Courage” was Ghost written by speechwriter : Theodore Sorensen.
This was denied for years but Sorenson admitted to writing large sections of the book in his 2009 autobiography, Counselor.
Of course JFK won a Pulitzer for this.
JFK’s life is a like a very nice car. Many like to believe it drives well and refuse to look under the hood.
Since this brings up the subject of ranking presidents, I thought it would be fun to do this myself. Here’s my opinion on the ranking of the presidents so far during my lifetime, starting with the best:
1. Ronald Reagan (unquestionably)
2. George W. Bush (a distant second)
3. George Herbert Walker Bush
4. Gerald Ford
5. Richard Nixon
6. Bill Clinton
7. John F. Kennedy
8. Barack Obama (I rank Obama slightly higher than Carter because I think Obama, in spite of his ideology, is a little more pragmatic than Carter)
9. Jimmy Carter
10. Lyndon B. Johnson (although I don’t consider him to be the least qualified to be president on the list, I rank him last because of the profound damage caused by his ‘Great Society’ programs)
1) A genuine war hero
2) Unfullfilled promise
3) Telegenic in a new media age
4) Leadership in the fight against Communism
5) Vision for American Excellence (NASA, etc)
I can clearly see how people would admire and respect him even with differing with some policies and his personal life.
He was a philanderer that would make Clinton blush. He even had liaisons with a East German spy.
Anti-abortion? Probably as anti abortion as brother Teddy.
He betrayed those fighting for freedom in the Bay of Pigs. He turned his back on them and promised never to invade Cuba.
He used the IRS illegally to attack Conservative organizations.
He participated in the illegally taped MLK communications, among others, and listened to MLK’s sex escapades.
His PT 109 heroics are a farce.
JFK was a fraud and a crook. He should have been impeached.
Americans as a rule...mighty when stirred...are not real informed by a corrupt media and academia
sadly...this includes many GOP supporters today as well...especially on the hot topics
Kennedy reached mythological status when he entered the proverbial “blameless house of the dead” in his prime.
I am probably the only person on earth who feels this way, but when I see the film of Jackie prodding her son to step forward and salute his daddy’s coffin, I see a conniving wife and mother who knew where the cameras were, and knew how to make journalistic history. And maybe that is the job of the wife of a public figure, to embody the hearts and minds of the population. But I have always felt like the Kennedys were more manipulators than public servants, and that Jackie fit right in with them.
Ok, hit me with your best shot.......
What are your reasons for ranking Bubba above JFK?
They always leave that last part out, don’t they? I guess it isn’t acceptable to expect other countries to contribute to their own well being.
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“Anti-abortion (we can assume by being a ardent Roman Catholic)”
We can? JFK was not an “ardent Catholic” in my opinion. Many dems were prolife, I doubt if it was an effect of their faith, I just think common sense was perhaps more prevalent back then whether their religion confirmed the unborn being people or not.
Freegards
“What are your reasons for ranking Bubba above JFK?”
Funny you should ask, because those two gave me the most pause, and I went back and forth a little on their ranking. I gave the slight edge to Clinton in the end, because he signed the Welfare Reform legislation, and because there was relative economic prosperity during his administration. I do give Kennedy credit for cutting taxes to stimulate the economy though.
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