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Kennedy was the first president I voted for. Gives you a good idea of my age. He wasn't a great president technically, but he was a great leader. He inspired people for good things. He was tested in war (unlike Clinton) so he knew what war could and couldn't do, respected but didn't fear it. He could bring people together in ways Clinton is uncapable of understanding. Yes, he had women in the White House, but a) they were adults, b) they weren't under his supervision, c) he was discrete about it, d) he didn't lie about it under oath, and e) it was, so far as we know, normal sex, not blow jobs under the table (quite literally, it seems). But the more important thing is that Kennedy had principles, he led by belief not by poll results, he made demands on the people (when he said "ask not what your country can do for you..." we BELIEVED, damn it) rather than pandering to the people. One of his lasting legacies, the Peace Corps, gave young people something to believe in and a way to make a difference in the world. Basically, he was a leader and an inspirer, he got the best out of Americans and made us proud to be Americans but not arrogant about it. I don't know whether you take that to constitute a great president, but I take it to be the hallmark of a great leader. If had lived, I probably his warts would have begun to overcome his gifts, but he died in a way that preserved the good parts of his legacy. The only true leader we have had since, in the sense of inspiring the people on the basis of a commitment to principles, was Reagan, think what you will of his politics. Kennedy and Reagan, indeed an odd couple but the two best leaders I have seen inhabiting the White House, and both men who put Clinton to shame. |
