how was J.F.K. a great man?

Question

SORRY.. to everyone...
im just curious..
im young xD

Answer 1

He was not a great man. He was a mediocre president. His only claim to fame, or to the white house, was that his grandfather made millions running illegal liquor during the prohibition. JFK's father was Ambassador to England in the 1930s, and basically took a pro-Hitler position. He was removed from his post after Hitler took over most of Europe. JFK himself visited Germany before the war, and wrote words of praise for Hitler and the policies he set up.

JFK had someone write a book called "profiles of courage" which he put his name on. That book won the pulitzer prize. JFK was the second favorite son, but when his older brother died during the war, JFK was groomed for the presidency, with the help of his father's money. While a US senator, he had an affair with a known russian spy, and was always a security risk because of his drug problems and womanizing.

His father bought him the nomination in 1960. During the election, the chicago mob went to work for Kennedy, basically stealing the election in Illinois. It's common knowledge that mob tough guys actually accompanied people into the voting booth, to make sure they voted for Kennedy. The vote for Kennedy in Chicago was larger than the entire population of Chicago, and many dead people seemed to prefer Kennedy over Nixon.

His presidency was met with hysteria by the left, but was mediocre at best. He ok'd the bay of pigs invasion of Cuba, then refused to aid the cubans. His brother, Booby, was put in charge of the invasion, and screwed up by ordering the bombing of the cuban beaches at the wrong time.

Kennedy's "heroic" stand during the Cuban Missile Crisis was caused by his screw up at the bay of pigs. Russia used the aborted invasion to justify the placement of missiles in Cuba. In the end, Kennedy had to remove missiles from Turkey to get the soviets to pull their missiles out of cuba, and also had to pledge that the US would never attempt to invade cuba again.

Kennedy was a rabid womanizer, and a drug addict during his time as president. His up and down behavior is typical of the mania which accompanies addiction. He pledged support for the South Vietnamese against the north. Then he ordered the assassination of the South Vietnamese president who was "difficult." Then, after ordering the assassination, he began to hint that he would no longer support the south vietnamese and wanted to pull US advisors out of the country.

His short time as president saw one of the greatest defeats of US foreign policy at the bay of pigs, and the greatest threat the US faced during the cold war, the cuban missile crisis. Both were caused by Kennedy's poor leadership. The State Department was constantly trying to put out the fires he created. While he was trying to calm tensions with the soviets, he went to berlin (the biggest hot spot in the cold war) and gave an incindeary speech, famous for his statement "Ich bein ein berliner." (He meant to say I am a Berliner, but had a poor understanding of German, and actually said "I am a donut.") That speech heightened tensions with the soviets at the same time he said he wanted to decrease tension.

JFK was working on a CIA plan to assassinate Castro, which involved the use of a "patsy" to take the fall for CIA or mafia agents. When JFK died, Booby Kennedy famously said to the head of the CIA "your guys killed him." While there's no proof of CIA involvement, many people (myself included) think the CIA assassinated JFK, using the same plan he had designed to kill Castro. JFK's womanizing and drug use made him unstable, and a real threat to national security.

Answer 2

Two words:

Marilyn Monroe.


ADDENDUM - Sorry, just read Queenie's response and must shed some light on JFK's Vietnam policy. Although he was not crazy about the war, he did indeed increase America's involvement from an advisory force & 500 troops to over 16,000 troops by the time he was assassinated in 1963.

Answer 3

JFK was no more great than most presidents, what made him revered, was his young family, and his vibrant family.

People came to think he was great, because of the manner of his death.
I am not saying he was not a good president, but sometimes images are polished by historical events.

Answer 4

He was a champion of the civil rights movement and he stopped Russia from bringing nuclear missiles into Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis.

Answer 5

I think because he tried to do his best to do the "right" thing... i.e. Bay of Pigs (however misguided), attacking the Mafia (which I personally believe was his ultimate downfall that resulted in his death), His attempt to take the country out of Vietnam..... ( It was Johnson who counteracted Kennedy and increased our involvement).

Answer 6

he lowered federal taxes,.....