back in the 60's the nation idolised its president. Why not now?

Question

After his violent death it seems the knives of the press have been out for every president since. Is this healthy or debilitating for the nation?

Answer 1

I think it is debilitating for our Nation, because it keeps good people from running for the office. The press are like vultures waiting and digging up every skeleton in their closet. Their are no morals of the press anymore, and everybody has to be first with the story even if it isn't true, remember Dan Rather and the Bush military lies he ran with, that turned out to be false, then he later resigned. And now the press and the Democratic party are no longer real Democrats anymore, they are very liberal and becoming socialist. The press in this country only care about getting the ratings, and they don't care who they step on to get the first story. If Kennedy were President today his romances and ties to the mob would be front page news. Just like Clinton's were.

Answer 2

several reasons, but actually i have seen anti presidential commentary and even political cartoons going back to George Washington, so its not new, the 60's however were a different time, people were taught to respect people in power, Television and the media is changing our views. People now have instant information. Everyone is a monday night quarterback. Everyone thinks they can run the country better. Maybe some people are right, but i truly doubt that all the facts are known. I wonder if even the worst critics of the president would not make similair decisions if they had access to all the same information.
The other factor that changed this was watergate, after that people did not trust politicians, particularly the president.

Answer 3

One of the key beliefs of a democratic society is that the representatives are held accountable by the people they are representing. People more recently have been taking the accountability idea to a whole new level. CNN, The Drudge Report, Sunday Morning Television and loads of other TV shows are showing a broader audience problems in the government. People have become more suspicious of government activities in part because they are learning more about them and in part because they are becoming a little more corrupt. Interest groups and Political Action Committees (PACs) were not nearly as prominent in the 1960s as they are today. These groups can essentially "buy" votes in spite of numerous campaign finance reform. Citizens of the United States are disgusted by the idea that the President and other members of his party can be controlled by money. In any democracy, it is not only healthy, but necessary for the public to know what is going on in the government.

Answer 4

After Nixon and Watergate it appears people lost faith in their leaders. Questioning the President is healthy and patriotic, calling him war criminal however is not. The press is giving the information people want. It is healthy because you get the truth, you do not get a santitized view of what is happened and can make the decision to support or not support the President.

Answer 5

President Bush needs to crack down on the American Populace. The War REALLY should have started at how. The military should have been dispatched to various towns and cities in the USA, limits on "free speech" and contradictry political express is a must.

Answer 6

I suggest everyone here study some history. Kennedy was NOT popular. He was more popular after his death. Same with Clinton. Clinton's approval rating when he left office was the lowest of any presidents but people have a way of forgetting with time.

Answer 7

You are incorrect. The 1960s Presidents were as controversial as President Bush. Conservatives, like my Father had no respect for President Kennedy and I had no respect for fellow Texan Lyndon Johnson primarily because he spent his term and a half doing everything he could to get those of us in the US Military killed in a civil war. (Sound Familiar) President Johnson had a secretary of defense, Casper Weinberger who was every bit as unpopular as Secretary Rumsfeld (Who incidentally, worked for Weinberger).

Answer 8

Nixon changed everything. Besides all else, Bush is a hypocrite pretending to be sanctimonious when he's the Evil one! Thank R. Reagan for blaming all his scandals on the press reports of them , not on the crimnial deeds of his administration !

Answer 9

It does kind of boil down to the TV camera. The Nixon-Kennedy debate was the first presidential debate televised. People actually there believed Nixon had won, but people watching on TV believed Kennedy had. In short, its about being personable.

Answer 10

The difference in the presidents.