JFK Presidency?

Question

Did Kennedy offer a new vision of the presidency or did he represent a continuation of his predecessor's Cold War policies?

Answer 1

As I recall it was Kennedy's youth, and glamour ( mostly media hype ) that caught the US public imagination. Ike had actually been not only a good president, but had held the war machine in check, right from the victory over nazi Germany. On leaving power he warned of the 'Military-Industrial Complex, in fact he coined the pfrase, or at least his speech writers did.

But Ike was the past, and JFK was the future. A new, younger constituency wanted a representative leadership, and the Kennedy circus met the bill. There was, regretably, little of substance behind then glamour. The 'Cold War' had really only started to bite with the Cuban Missile Crisis. It may be thought to have been a JFK administration victory, but if so it was phyrric.

Both sides found out what the reality of nuclear over-kill capacities meant, and the chill set in afterwards.

I think history would have a very different view of JFK had he not been assassinated, finished his term, and got thrown out of a second term on his *ss.

Like great artists, a little untimely death can do wonders for a politicians image.

Answer 2

In many ways he was far too naive to be an effective foreign policy leader. He didn't understand the extent of the Soviet military determination, especially in comparison to Eisenhower who had to work closely with the Soviets during the war. Kennedy didn't understand the Communist determination to rid the world of free markets, religion, and social classes.

It would be wrong to say he had a "new vision of the presidency" if you mean that in a positive sense. What he did have was a "naive vision of the presidency" that threw him quickly into the Cuban missile crisis, Viet Nam and many other skirmishes that he was ill-prepared to handle. But he had the charisma to carry him through until he could find the right advisor to get him out of trouble.

Answer 3

Actually a combination...Kennedy represented a younger, newer way of thinking that looked to the future....a break from the Eisenhower administration and WWII and all its bad memories.
Quote"Ask not what your country can do for you...ask what you can do for your country" Putting a man on the moon in 9 years....etc.

Answer 4

He got us headed towards the moon.. which was different..
he faced down Castro with the missle crisis.. but then there was the Bay of Pigs invasion (disaster)
and he got us involved in Vietnam.. politics the more people say its different its pretty much the same.

Answer 5

I have no clue. I just know JFK is my one of my favorite presidents

Answer 6

if you call vietnam a new vision...that's what it is..Kennedy and Johnson both escalated Nam...they both suck