Why do people so many think that JFK was such a great President?

Question

I'm not trying to insult anybody. I'm just trying to understand.

The facts are that John F. Kennedy was a drunk and a womanizer. He was involved with the Mafia and was elected by fraud. He claimed to be against Communism but sold out the Cuban Dissidents when they tried to take their country back from Castro (Bay of Pigs). He almost started World War III, nuclear war, with Russia (Cuban Missile Crisis). And he involved the U.S. in the Cambodian Conflict, which set the groundwork for the Vietnam War, which his VP, LBJ, completely botched, getting countless U.S. soldiers killed and dividing the Nation as it never had been divided before.

I feel bad that he was assassinated. That shouldn't happen to anyone. It was a tragedy. However, it doesn't change the facts. The only good thing that Kennedy did was cut taxes, and he was the last Democrat president who ever did that.

Please respond with facts, not insults or emotionalism. I want real answers. And please, no Bush and no Clinton!

Great answers so far everybody! I'm learning a lot. It's nice to hear facts and personal experiences rather than "How can you say that? You are stupid?" I hope I can have this kind of dialogue on my other questions. It's nice not to feel like half of the world hates you, just because you see things a different way.

Answer 1

I am a German, so I might see him different.

For me he had charisma, when my country badly needed him. He came to Berlin and encouraged our people with his words "Ich bin ein Berliner". So he gave us confidence in the USA to survive the Cold War.

And he gave me also a scientific vision. I remember, when he said, the USA want to bring a man to the moon. From that moment, I watched all the efforts of NASA and finally I became a scientist.

Answer 2

I suppose you had to have lived through it. Yes, he had his faults as do most presidents, but the media wasn't as intrusive about it then as they are now and if they knew about his womanizing, they just kept their mouths shut.

He was a young, vibrant (or so it seemed - had we known about his afflictions, that might not have been the case) and it was just coming off the Eisenhower years where we had good old Ike, a World War II hero - who was old!!! Really old!!!

It was a time of great idealism and hope - looking toward what Kennedy termed the New Frontier. There was so much offered, and he had so little time to do it in.

For the record, Kennedy was getting ready to bring the troops home from VietNam - Nixon was the one who went into Cambodia (damn, can't even blame that one on LBJ), not Kennedy. And yes, Johnson botched it big-time, playing right into the hands of his handlers. The paperwork was complete, awaiting his signature, and had Kennedy lived, there would have been no VietNam War and countless lives would have been saved.

He had guts too. He stood up to the Russians in the Cuban Missle Crisis and didn't blink. Yes, it brought us to the brink of WWIII, but unless you were alive at that time, you have no idea how respected Kennedy was after that crisis was over. He could have been elected emperor of the world had he wanted (there's the emotionalism, sorry).

Kennedy also laid the groundwork for the massive Civil Rights Bill that Johnson pushed through Congress. It was part of Kennedy's legacy.

As for your contention he was a drunk, there is no proof he ever had more than a drink or two at any one time, primarily because of the drug interactions with the medication he was taking for Addison's Disease. Are you sure you aren't thinking of Teddy, his younger brother?

Kennedy - even though he didn't live to see it - was responsible also for one of mankind's greatest triumphs - the moon landing in 1969. Early in his administration, he called for putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. And while it didn't happen until Nixon was in office, this too, was part of his legacy.

It's hard to imagine what the world would have been like had he lived - he almost surely would have overwhelmingly been re-elected in 1964, there would have been no VietNam War and so many things would have been different, it boggles the mind.

Maybe his accomplishments weren't all that many in the thousand days he served, but his legacy continues to this day. And that's probably one of the reasons why he's so fondly remembered. That, and any time that someone is taken from us too soon, those memories are good.

Like I said, maybe you just had to be there.

Answer 3

Wow...I'm quite impressed. I've often thought that myself. In fact, in May, I had to present a paper about how the media and Hollywood contorts the American peoples views on politics. What I did was write about two people, basic facts and accomplishments, and read them to the class. One was what you stated - all the things that Kennedy didn't do well, didn't do at all, or screwed up. The other card talked about how the other leader built up nationalism and the economy, military, and government of a nation. Then I took a poll from my peers - all voted for the man who increased nationalism and the economy. I then revealed the first card was Kennedy. The second was Hitler.

To answer your question, I have no idea. It is a tragedy that he died, especially so young, and he was an American President. But he didn't LEAD us. Then again, so few Presidents have...

Answer 4

Yes I could not agree more. I believe the media has held Kennedy up as some sort of hero because they really a bunch of losers. They have no other president of any merit after kennedy
to talk about. If a conservative Had a daddy that was a rum running rapist and an inside trader etc. we would never hear the end of it. Chappaquiddick is the other issue - I hold liberals in such low regard I cant really express it

Answer 5

Your question is framed in a way that diminshes the scope and depth of answers you may have received. You dismiss the fact that Kennedy was assassinated 1000 days into his presidency, as well as state, "The only good thing that Kennedy did was cut taxes." Have you not heard of the Peace Corps?
It is no small feat that millions of Americans were (and are still) inspired by this man who said, "Ask not, what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
40+ years later, the impact of his leadership is still felt, and he did it in only 1000 days.

Answer 6

Mainly because he stared the Russians down with the Cuban Missile crisis.
He was killed and thought to be a courageous leader. He was still relishing the political clout he gained with how he dealt with the crisis. He was considered an American hero and his path ended in a kind of martyrdom.

Answer 7

he stood by his opinions, hes just the most recent president that behaved in this particular way

he tried a great deal to help out the general man and did a lot of 'good' things like helping out the black rights movement and schools in america

a lot of his policies were very liberal, and appeals to broad number of people

he didnt start the vietnam war, and it wasnt botched by him and i have a firm belief that he was quite prepared to nuke cuba which i wouldnt have agreed with, but he didnt have to in teh end and his record stands head and shoulders above of his misgiving

he was very hotheaded but thats the reason why he did some of the good things that he did as well, so u have to take the man as a whole

i like him bcos i am not perfect myself, everybody has their own idiosynchracies about whether they are a good or bad person

Answer 8

he was great,he a hero,don't bring the catholic card into it this country was united, balance budget his brother was bringing down the mafia he was no drunk how can you said thisdon't blame him for vietnam that no good texas started the war just like the two other texas that started war. you don't know what it be like having missle next door to you.. you did insult the people that love him why don't you people be positive some time

Answer 9

I agree with all you say, but ya may get to be known as a Repub., or NeoCon for it! I think Kennedy was our leader during a time when even if he did nothing (and that's what he did) the US Economy was strong and kept growing! That and the fact that he was assassinated makes him almost a Deity!

http://www.total-knowledge.com/~willyblues/

Answer 10

I think it was because he was clear and unambiguous about his direction. His leadership was amazing: "We are going to the moon in x years" energeized the whole country to accomplish amazing scientific advances. That's the kind of thing a leader should do.