Posted on 12/30/2010 10:54:00 AM PST by thecodont
Fifty Januaries ago, under a pallid sun and amid bitter winds, John F. Kennedy swore the oath that every president had taken since 1789 and then delivered one of the most memorable inaugural addresses in the American canon. “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom,” the 35th president began. After noting that “the world is very different now” from the world of the Framers because “man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life,” he announced that “the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans” and made the pledge that has echoed ever since: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.”
[...]
In meeting the challenges of his time, Kennedy sharply expanded the power of the presidency, particularly in foreign affairs. The 50th anniversary of his inauguration highlights the consequences—for him, for his successors and for the American people.
To be sure, the President’s control over foreign affairs had been growing since the Theodore Roosevelt administration (and still grows today). TR’s acquisition of the Panama Canal Zone preceded Woodrow Wilson’s decision to enter World War I, which was a prelude to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s management of the run-up to the victorious American effort in World War II. In the 1950s, Harry S. Truman’s response to the Soviet threat included the decision to fight in Korea without a Congressional declaration of war, and Dwight Eisenhower used the Central Intelligence Agency and brinksmanship to contain Communism....
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Power-and-the-Presidency-From-Kennedy-to-Obama.html#ixzz19cb3WYGc
(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmag.com ...
“From Kennedy to . . . . . “
Typical Smithsonian. You’d think that history started in 1960 with them, when our God President JFK brought the tablets down from the mountain.
bookmark
The Bible
Shakespeare
The Constitution
There may be others, but these 3 works understand human nature. One can live a life full of wisdom by reading just these 3 things. One can read other things and derive benefits, of course. But these 3 works understand human nature better than all others.
Some freepers are just as bad with the Kennedy worship, claiming he was "more conservative than today's Republicans" and is some kind of heroic role model who stopped commies and saved the economy.
Sickening, isn't it? Kennedy must be the most overrated President in history.
Some freepers are just as bad with the Kennedy worship, claiming he was “more conservative than today’s Republicans” and is some kind of heroic role model who stopped commies and saved the economy.
The truth hurts doesn’t it. So you believe that Brown and the bobsey twins up in Maine are more conservative than JFK? You are sick if you believe that.
You seem to be confused. I said today’s Republicans in general, not a handful of RINOs. Kennedy’s left-wing policies had much in common with New England RINOs. Both are socialists being falsely touted as “fiscal conservatives”, Kennedy certainly isn’t “more conservative” than Republicans in general, and he isn’t “more conservative” than RINOs either, although he shared many of the goals of a RINO like Arnold Schwartzenegger.
In any case, as bad as they are, I don’t see Brown and the Maine twins demanding open borders, bashing the Catholic church’s conservative social policies, and constantly talking about how wonderful FDR’s new deal was and how we m must preserve and expand on it. JFK did that on a regular basis. You’re sick if you think that kind of agenda is “more conservative”
I did not know that JFK did the things mentioned in your second paragraph. The reason I find him acceptable and the last Democrat is because he was pro-defense, served in the military (and did well not like John Kerry). He gave a tax cut which is very unusual for a Democrat. I think you are right that he was an Arnold S Republican/Democrat or combination of both. He did not advocate abortion either....that is a major plus.
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