[Wolfstar]

Kabar: I was in high school when Kennedy was shot. Specifically, I was in English class. Happy now?! John F. Kennedy's death did not become personal to me, nor was I ever enthralled with him, nor did he ever inspire me. Pick a cliche — any cliche that's sprouted about the man over the years, and I can assure you that I was not then nor have I ever been impressed.

As for Clinton's "meaning of the word IS, is," I will never forget it, because it's impact — to me, anyway — was profound. To witness a duly sworn Constitutional chief executive officer and commander-in-chief of the United States so thoroughly debase his office, the laws he was sworn to uphold, and the American people was deeply shocking to me. Equally as, if not more shocking was the fact that the media and his own party defended him, and much, if not the majority of the public just seemed to shrug.

The assassination of any head of state is shocking to the nation in which it occurs — all the more so for us since we are accustomed to stability in our political system. But John F. Kennedy was all that Christopher Hitchens described. It's long, long past time that we took the man down from his entirely undeserved pedestal and see him for what he truly was.

I am sick of the Left defining for me and this nation who is and is not "great." I do not confuse greatness with celebrity, charm, smooth oratory or what some deem to be good looks.

John F. Kennedy was not a great president. He was not a good president. He was not even a mediocre president. He was a lousy president because, like his emulator, Bill Clinton, he put his own hedonistic desires ahead of the best interests of the nation and Constitution he was sworn to protect and uphold.

[kabar]

You are entitled to your opinion, but the assassination of Kennedy was an apolitical event in terms of the national reaction. That may be hard to believe given the highly charged partisan nature of our politics now. No matter whether you thought highly of him or not, it was a significant national eventthat evokes many memories. Do you really think that you will remember 40 years from now where and what you were doing when the tape of Clinton's "the meaning of is" interrogatory came out?

You are confusing the newsworthiness or significance of an event with your personal feelings about JFK. Only time will affect the media coverage, but I will bet that the 50th Anniversary will be an even bigger event than the 40th. It will then fade gradually from our national memory.