Today is, of course, the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. I was more than nine years from being born at the time, so I have no personal recollection of his presidency or the event that took his life on Nov. 22, 1963. But as something of a dabbler in political history, I have always admired the man. He had great weaknesses, as we all do in some form. But he also demonstrated great capacity for growth and leadership. As a communicator, only Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan were in his class in the last 100 years of American politics. He had the ability to inspire and the ability to change. After allowing the military and intelligence services to talk him into the ill-advised Bay of Pigs fiasco, he refused to be talked into starting World War III just a year and a half later. His deft handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis was perhaps the greatest diplomatic triumph of any 20th century president. And while he was cool toward the civil rights movement early in his presidency, he finally came to see it as a moral issue. I think, in his brief time in office, he was a surprisingly consequential president. He, along with his brothers, made a great impact on our country. I salute his memory today.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 16:00:10 +0000