“Uh....why is it even necessary to engage in such a thought exercise?”
I’m still thinking about your comment. I remember in one of Thomas Sowell’s books, in the chapter on brainwashing in our schools, he mentions the “lifeboat problem”, where you have a lifeboat that holds 10 people, but 11 people need to be rescued. How do you decide which person to leave behind? Easy answer - you deal with the situation when you come to it (which is never, since you’re 100 times more likely to win the lottery).
I read some stuff on Hitler and by 1937, when Kennedy showed has admiration for him, he well into making life miserable for the Jews - there was no reason to admire him and say he was perfect for Germany.
Jews in America circa 1930s were not that well loved;matter of fact,all non WASP were viewed poorly.
Remember the question of having a “Catholic” President who would simply do whatever the Pope told him was a real concern for many in 1960.
Knowing that engineers overdesign by nature and also to cover their arse from litigation... I’d know that a lifeboat rated for ten people was actually designed to hold more weight than its rating will state... if it was made in the USA, where lawyers are abundant.
:-p