Barack Obama - a John Kennedy for our times [Barf Alert!]

TimesOnline uk ^ | 2/18/08 | William Rees-Mogg

[melt]

One man has captured the heart of the new America

It is hard to see who can stop Senator Barack Obama becoming the next President of the United States. He has built up an excitement such as no candidate has created since President Kennedy in 1960. He is, in my view, a better speaker than Kennedy. Like Kennedy, he combines personal magnetism with a strong appeal to American idealism.

Like Kennedy, he is young and speaks for the new generation of American politics. By ordinary political reckoning, 2008 ought to be the Democrats' year. In 2006 they captured both houses of Congress in mid-term elections.

There are, of course, hypothetical events that could change everything. There could be an attack on Mr Obama himself, but he is protected by the Secret Service. There could be an action by al-Qaeda, which would refocus American anxiety on the threat of terror.

But al-Qaeda is itself highly political. It would probably not be in its interest to secure the election of Senator John McCain. Al-Qaeda may be unpredictable, but it would be a mistake for it to interfere in American politics, even if it had the capacity to do so.

At the start of the primaries, when all eyes were on Iowa and New Hampshire, Senator Clinton was the frontrunner for the Democratic Party nomination. She had the organisation, she had the money, she had the name recognition, she had the professionalism; she even had Bill Clinton, even if he is something of an unguided missile.

But those days are now long ago. Senator Clinton has fallen behind Senator Obama in almost all of these factors, except for Bill Clinton's support.

[Bender2]

Re: Barack Obama - a John Kennedy for our times

Gadzooks, we've already had a rip-roaring, whoring JFK clone in Bill Clinton. Wasn't he enough?

[ronnie raygun]

Obama is the second coming of “CHANGE” The first coming of "CHANGE" was given to us by Nancy(puke) Pelosi and her liberal do nothing congressional imbeciles. With all this "CHANGE" who needs "HOPE". We need "HOPE". hope that these idiots and the idiots who vote for them don't complete the final chapter in the demise of a great nation.

[rdl6989]

[Eva]

I’m not sure that he isn’t more like John Kennedy than you think. John Kennedy was both young and inexperienced. He also made speeches that were full of stirring platitudes and also lacked the insight to handle the issues of the day. Look what he did at the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam.

[se_ohio_young_conservative]

JFKs view of the world was spot on

He warned against isolationism. He knew who our enemies were. In his view of the world, we represented good and they were evil. A lot like Reagan and George W. Bush in some ways.

[texastoo]

While praising JFK, lets not forget that he bungled the BAY of PIGS. Then came the CUBAN Missle Crisizs where everyone was digging bomb shelters. Then Kennedy started the Vietnam war.

Also, lets not forget that he camealot with Marilyn Monroe and Judith Exner, the mob boss laDY.

Also, we can throw in the coverup of Teddy and Chapaquidic. Teddy had a closed door hearing away from the public and he won. LOL. All special treatment arranged by JFK.

JFK was a busy man for 3 years while in office.

They were not good years. .

[se_ohio_young_conservative]

he wasnt a perfect man. But he was a great leader.

and lest we forget that Reagan had a bad situation in Lebanon. We kept playing a game of musical chairs with Iran and Iraq...

But I still love Reagan and I love JFK !

[hinckley buzzard]

Jack Kennedy knew how to stare down tyrants like Nikita Khruschev, not appease them

Well...remember Vienna. It kind of went the other way.

The comparison is not that far out. Kennedy was pretty much a put-up job, and won only by dint of corruption in multiple high places. His persona was media-driven, much like Obama's is. While it is true that his politics were different from Obama's, still his anti-business views were famous. The "legacy" of JFK which passes for history around here is mostly urban legend perpetrated by Jackie O and the Kennedy clan after the fact, in league with a compliant press. .

Kennedy was in Texas in 11/63 to mend fences, because his re-election was in trouble.

[hinckley buzzard]

Kennedy may not have been racist but he had no great interest in the civil rights struggle at the time. He never quite got around to sending a bill up to Congress, even though Eisenhower had before he left office (Sabotaged by senate democrats including Kennedy.)

One recorded fact is that when Sammy Davis Jr. a Kennedy fan, was fixing to marry Mae Britt, Kennedy weighed in on him to put off the marriage until after the election. Kennedy was afraid the news of a black supporter marrying a white woman would lose him votes in the South. Sinatra was so pissed at JFK for this btw that he quit the democrat party and later became a Nixon republican.