[liberallarry]

Even if I grant you that...is there anything dishonorable in such ambition? In the end Joe Kennedy lost 3 sons in service to this country. That's quite a record whatever else you might say about him.

I am no worshipper of the Kennedys. I'm well-aware of Kennedy's personal and political flaws.

But at least he chased Jackie and Marilyn - not Hillary and Paula. At least he was a terrific speaker and an inspiration to an entire generation of young people. At least he knew the facts and had the courage to execute his policies - and to change direction when he felt he'd made a mistake.

These are no small things.

[presidio9]

Even if I grant you that...is there anything dishonorable in such ambition? In the end Joe Kennedy lost 3 sons in service to this country. That's quite a record whatever else you might say about him.

I respect that, but it says nothing about his second son's record as a President or as a naval commander. And it counter-balanced by the fact that he was an immoral crook with ties to the mob.

I am no worshipper of the Kennedys. I'm well-aware of Kennedy's personal and political flaws.

And yet you spend so much energy defending him? Why is that?

But at least he chased Jackie and Marilyn - not Hillary and Paula.

Gee, what a glowing recommendation. Favorably comparing a man to Clinton won't win you any points here.

At least he was a terrific speaker and an inspiration to an entire generation of young people.

And this "inspiration" becomes less and less relevant as that generation ages. I'm told that as a football coach Jim Fassel is an inspiration to his players. What does that get him?

At least he knew the facts and had the courage to execute his policies - and to change direction when he felt he'd made a mistake.

The point is not that he did nothing while in office. The point is that he was forced "to change direction" a lot more often than he should have. He was not an inactive president. Just an ineffective one.

[Taliesan]

But at least he chased Jackie and Marilyn - not Hillary and Paula.

Damned with faint praise.

[kabar]

At least he was a terrific speaker and an inspiration to an entire generation of young people. At least he knew the facts and had the courage to execute his policies - and to change direction when he felt he'd made a mistake. These are no small things.

I agree with you about Kennedy's impact upon the nation and the body politic worldwide. It may have been a triumph of style over substance, but Kennedy did inspire many Americans to "ask not what you can your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." As an 18 year old, I delivered pamphlets door to door for him during the 1960 elections. He had energy, charisma, eloquence, and style presaging a new generation of Americans (including Irish Catholics) taking over the reins of power and the leadership of the free world. His Ich bin ein Berliner speech was great political theater and sent shockwaves through Eastern Europe. I am a card-carrying, contributing Republican conservative, but I have warm memories of Camelot and the inspiration it gave in terms of public service, e.g., the Peace Corps, and America's role in the world, i.e., "bearing any burden, paying any price in the defense of freedom."

[Paulus Invictus]

Only one son, Joe, was lost in military service to the country. The other two were a dis-service to the country and were lost to assassins, not in military action where the term '"in service to their country" is always used.

[Wolfstar]

...an inspiration to an entire generation of young people...

I was a young person at the time, and he was no inspiration to me — unless it was an inspiration to become a life-long Republican.