Posted on 03/13/2006 12:13:59 PM PST by george wythe
Which was a more important political dynasty in American life, the Kennedy dynasty or the Bush one? Did either the Kennedys or the Bushes leave behind a coherent philosophy of government? Which dynasty left a deeper mark on the American character and memory?
Let's start by acknowledging that the Kennedys are in eclipse now. The senior lion of the clan, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), is a year away from age 75; he's clearly never going to be president. His son, Patrick, is a congressman from Rhode Island but is unlikely to reach the top of the greasy pole of politics. His nephew, Joseph III, once a promising congressman from Boston, is out of politics. Soon the Kennedys will do what the other important political family of Massachusetts, the Adams family, did: Pass into history.
The Bushes aren't finished yet. George W. Bush has nearly three more years in office. His brother, Jeb, is governor of Florida and may have a national role in his future, perhaps as a vice presidential candidate in 2008. There are more Bushes coming. The Bushes are still a work in progress.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I'm going to begin by arguing that the dynasty numbers favor the Bushes. They count one ambassador (George H.W. Bush), one congressman (George H.W. Bush), one senator (Prescott Bush of Connecticut), one vice president (George H.W. Bush), two governors (Jeb Bush and George W. Bush), and two presidents.The Kennedys don't do badly, of course. They have one ambassador (Joseph Kennedy Sr.), one lieutenant governor (Kathleen Kennedy Townsend), three congressmen (John, Patrick and Joseph III), three senators (John, Robert and Edward) and one president. But two presidents is a very important achievement -- enough, in my mind at least, to give the nod to the Bushes, and that doesn't even count the possibility that they're not finished yet
Is that the one who was boffing the babysitter?
The Bush family definitely win.
Hell yes! The Bush family has had a lot more influence than the Kennedys. The Kennedy family is mostly media hype.
IMO:
JFK's big achievement was almost starting a nuclear war.
Bobby Kennedy's big achievement was wiretapping Martin Luther King.
Teddy Kennedy's big achievement was killing a girl.
The sooner the entire Kennedy clan exits the public stage, the better for our country. They've done far more harm than good.
And which family is a collection of condescending elitist snobs?
I think that was the tree hugger, Michael.
John F Kennedy is the most overrated President in history.
And, as always, we lose.
If Nov. 22 had never happened, this would all be meaningless.
JFK may or may not have been re-elected in 64.
It is highly doubtful that RFK would be elected to the Senate from NY without the assassination of JFK,
or that Teddy would emerge as a royal senator-for-life from Mass without Nov. 22.
The Kennedy "dynasty" exists because of the misplaced compassion/nostalgia of the American people, not because of any particular achievement of the Kennedy clan.
Sadly, they have been living off of their dead brother/uncle for 40+ years.
Didn't they ALL take their turn with the babysitter? It's a rite of passage.
......and then there is the clinton family......what are we going to do about them?????????
The results would have been closer, but the outcome would have been the same. As the story goes, JFK and Barry Goldwater were good friends. They planned on crisscrossing the nation in the 1964 campaign, discussing all the relevent issues of the day. One thing if JFK did win, he might have fought the Vietnam War differently. He might have fought to win it.
I read that Barry and JFK were actually good friends and wanted to run the "best election" ever in '64..issues and governing philosophy debates...take politics to a higher level...it would have been something..
Michael Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, was caught by his wife having sex with a teenage babysitter.
Michael Kennedy escaped potential legal problems, but he later died in a ski accident.
Maybe at the bar over Scotch and some bimbos, but when it came to elections, none of the Kennedy's had friends. They divided to world into supporters and targets for destruction. They fought with brass knuckles and knives in the back. JFK would have savaged Goldwater even worse than Johnson did.
BTW. Nixon and JFK were far closer "friends" than Goldwater and he were, until the 1960 election.
W is related to seven former Presidents.
W descends from at least 6 Mayflower passengers.
If you click here you can find out more about the Bush Genealogy:
P in 2024!
I plan to.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.