NationStates Jolt Archive

Was John F. Kennedy a good president? I don't know. Want to know why I don't know? Cause nobody ever talks about his role as President. They talk about four things: 1) The Cuban Missile Crisis 2) Marilyn Monroe 3) His Proposal of a Moon Landing 4) His assssination.

I never hear people discuss whether his economic decisions ended well, I never hear whether he was pro-life or pro-choice, I never hear whether he supported segregated schools, I never hear if he raised or lowered taxes, I never hear anything.

Some information I've managed to dig up on my own through library research and serious questioning of people alive during his reign, but the information is never volunteered. Not because people want to keep it a secret, it's simply because the four factors I mentioned earlier always overshadow everything else. For some reason people seem to think that four events, two of which had nothing to do with him running the country, are more important than everything else. Hell, the moon landing didn't even happen until years after his death. The Cuban Missile Crisis is worthy of discussion, but not at the sacrifice of everything else.

Why is it that all the mundane aspects of the presidency are overlooked in favor of a few superficial events?

Hmm, I dunno. I recently tried to rank the top ten and tried to put Kennedy there. But I was looking at a small description about him along with a few others, and the description didn't seem to make me want to place him that high. Unlike the other descriptions of a few other Presidents, except for Jefferson's which was even worse than Kennedy's.

The Cuban Missile Crisis and his push for the moon made his presidency. However, no president has ever been re-elected without having at least a 2.73% economic growth during his term, so he must have done something right.

Kennedy wasn't the best president based on his own merits, but his speechwriter was excellent. Things that people attribute to Kennedy were almost entirely Ted Sorensen's doing, even if Kennedy didn't really care one way or another about the issues of which he spoke.

I don't think he was a good President. He betrayed the Cuban freedom fighters at the Bay of Pigs, forced Laos' pro-U.S., anti-communist Prince Boum Oum to accept a coalition government with communists, showed cowardice and timidity during the Cuban missile crisis (when the missiles could have been destroyed by air strikes), supported pro-Soviet Patrice Lumumba while opposing pro-US, Christian, anti-communist Moise Tshombe and supporting the UN (who began a terrorist war and committed horrific atrocities against Katanga, where Tshombe was president), encouraged the overthrow of South Vietnam's President Ngo Dinh Diem (while Diem was a brutal dictator- a fact both liberals and conservatives agree on- overthrowing him made SV extremely unstable politically, and brought the country to the brink of anarchy), gutted the hell out of internal security, appointed many ultra-radical pro-communist globalists like Walt Rostow to his government, got rid of security specialist Otto Otepka (who was doing great at locating communists and recommending their removal to the government), like all previous and following Presidents, he continued to provide massive amounts of aid to the Soviet Union (U.S. aid is the only thing that kept the USSR from collapsing under its own weight), he had a chance to liberate China during the failure of the 'Great Leap Forward,' he alienated Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk and turned him from a potential ally to a pro-communist, anti-American, some of his actions were strongly anti-business, he oversaw the largest growth in welfare programs since the New Deal, ran up huge deficits, allowed the communists to build the Berlin Wall (when it could and should have been destroyed as it was being built, brick by brick), continued to undermine states' rights...I could go on all day, but I'll stop here.

...you REALLY don't like communism, do you?

What does everyone have against communism? Its America, people can be communists if they want. If our 'freedoms' are so vaunted, then why can't people be communist without being 'unamerican'?

Anway, what I know about Kennedy is mostly limited to what my AP US History teacher told us, and he was rabid anti-Kennedy, so take it with a grain of salt.

Kennedy was often weak during foreign affiars, looking to compromise rather than resolution. He showed no back-bone in dealing with communists. Kennedy spent his presidency looking good rather than doing anything.

In regards to the segregation of schools: Kennedy had no plan for civil rights, MLK forced him to take a step that he didn't want to.

I think he was pro-life (he was a Catholic) but I'm not too sure.

I'm also pretty sure that he did good things, but, like I said, my teacher focused on the bad because he hated Kennedy.

In Kennedy's defense, had he taken out those missiles with an air strike, the Soviets may very well have retaliated by seizing West Berlin...and we all know how that would have ended. Personally, I give him a thumbs up for his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Sadly, thumbs down for The Bay of Pigs and a thumbs down for overall morality. Never trust a man who can't even keep a sacred vow of marriage with his spouse.

...you REALLY don't like communism, do you?

No, I don't. I don't hate communists themselves...just communism.

Wait, was he the one that had the affair with Monroe?

Dude. It's Monroe. :p

(j/k ;))

John F. Kennedy was a good president, but liked convertibles too much. :(

[QUOTE=BLARGistania]What does everyone have against communism? Its America, people can be communists if they want. If our 'freedoms' are so vaunted, then why can't people be communist without being 'unamerican'?

My dear, you in America don't really know what communism is able to do, when it can. I''m Italian. So I live in a capitalist-corrupt country but I ensure you that in the period 1943-1948 the communists showed up what they can do, if allowed. And I only live in Italy. Ask a Russian, an Ukrainian, an East-German and you'll see, what democracy has against communism.
You there in America see communism as some ideological, which never had governed nothing and was never applied entirely. But communism has existed, exists and will exist. And never brought something good to the world but death and civil war between riches and poors. This is not an Ideology which we can look to with benevolence. Would you do this with Nazism?

Sua Maestà il Granduca Pico I di Erdbeden

Yes, I know all that. But, Americans are supposed to be the free(est) people in the planet. And yet, everyone sees communists as bad, horrible, and entirly unamerican. I'm not arguing for the concept, I'm arguing against people who see it as a patriotic duty to hunt down communists.

Say what you will about Kennedy, but the mettle of the man is tested no more than when the nation he leads is on the brink of a Nuclear War.
The fact that the US, and maybe civilization as we know it exists, is becuase Kennedy was able to avoid a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.

For those of you who dont know much about the entire event, I suggest you read up on the subject, and find out exactly how close we were to annihilation.

Yes, I know all that. But, Americans are supposed to be the free(est) people in the planet. And yet, everyone sees communists as bad, horrible, and entirly unamerican. I'm not arguing for the concept, I'm arguing against people who see it as a patriotic duty to hunt down communists.

It's because communists go against it's current form of government. And it's because it happens to be the type of government it's enemy was in the Cold War. Saying, "you're a communist", has almost became an insult in America. It's sad that it must be used that way. If someone asks you if you're a communist, and if you are, dont be afraid to say yes. Just simply say "Yes, and your point?". They see communists as the enemy, much like the current view of "terrorists". Thus, making the communists look like they betray America, making them look like anti-americans.

Nothing wrong with communism at all. In theory. Maybe the best way for everyone overall to govern a nation. In theory.

However, everywhere it has been practised, it has been showing the world it's prolly way worse in practise then it sounds in theory.

Anyway, let the communists be, it's after all a nice thought eventho it prolly wont work. Same goes for anarcists. It's a real great idea. But I would say that anarcists that truely believe that it would work is very naive about the humna natur.

Kennedy didn't do anything out of the ordinary and the reason we remember him fondly is because he was assassinated.

His Lunar landing was a good policy. The Cuban Missile crisis was averted by him, so kudos for it. The Bay of Pigs incident really hurt America in the long term. A C+? Average I guess. 50 years down the line he may be just be remembered as another McKinley or Garfield, forgotten.