You know who had a shitty record in the Senate? John Kennedy.

[Bucky]

Really, he was a lightweight in an era of giants (although still not quite the Senate's heyday). He sponsored some strong pro-labor bills--this was in the era of Taft-Hartley--but never had the votes or the pull to make much progress helping working families. He spoke out some against Eisenhower's policies that helped old colonial powers hang on for a few more years, but never sponsored major legislation in that area either. He abstained from the vote to censure Joe McCarthy, who was a personal friend and the godfather of one of JFK's nephews. He voted to water down the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which ended up making him popular among Southern politicians for the 1960 nomination.

This was only cynical positioning by a deft politician, as JFK could be accurately described as the president with the strongest Civil Rights record since Reconstruction. But Kennedy was no hotshot as a Senator. This post doesn't support or detract from any candidate running today. But I think it's worth pointing out that what a person has done as a legislator doesn't really mean a lot in terms of what kind of president they'll be. The two questions are almost entirely unrelated.

[dogman]

1. And what was his record as President? N/T

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. FIXED

He abstained from the vote to censure Joe McCarthy, who was a personal friend , dated one of his sisters ,and the godfather of one of JFK's nephews.

FIXED

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. He Also Was A War Hero Who Had A Movie Made About His Exploits

He also wrote a book, Profiles In Courage, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize...

[Bucky]

8. You left the quote marks off from the sentence, "JFK 'wrote' Profiles in Courage"

Fixed.

You may not be aware of this, but writing books and having movies made about you aren't exactly part of the job description for Senator.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

10. No...But The Total Measure Of A Person Can't Be Found In Their Job Performance

That's why Lloyd Bentsen told Dan Quayle "he was no Jack Kennedy."

[Bucky]

12. That's kinda the thesis of my original post

The point should not be lost that, while Kennedy was an intellectual, as a senator he was something of a lazy intellectual. I think that may be a good quality to have in president.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. He Was Bright And Associated Himself With Intellectuals..

I read he had an I.Q. of 117... That suggests you're bright but not Mensa material....

And I'm not Mensa material either but I try like Hell to inform myself...

[BootinUp]

16. And truer words were never spoken. I still

love that line. I thought we were gonna win that year.

[Snotcicles]

4. I see you got my drift from that other post. nt

[XemaSab]

5. And he got us into 'nam.

:P

[DemocratSinceBirth]

7. There Were Advisers In Nam When He Got Into Office

eom

[Bucky]

9. And he expanded their role. We had a bigger force in '63 than we did in '61

It took Johnson to turn it into a full scale fuckfest, but Kennedy certainly did expand the role of US advisors in that war.

[goodgd_yall]

22. Well, if you want to talk about expand, then Johnson's your man.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

[Freddie Stubbs]

28. Who picked Johnson as a running mate?

:shrug:

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. Obama Is Closest To John Kennedy

Except for the war hero status and Pulizer Prize...

[itsrobert]

11. Because he came from a family of wealth and extreme upper class?

I didn't know Obama was that wealthy. Maybe Oprah gave him a lot of money on the side?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. Because He Would Be The First African American Pres

As Kennedy was the first Catholic pres...

They also represent a new generation of American politics...

[Bucky]

14. My read on Obama isn't that he's running to be the first African-American president

Frankly, I find that consideration kind of shallow. Obama's my go-to candidate once my first choice gets kicked out of the race. But I honestly don't give a shit about his race.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

18. Ted Sorenson

"He reminds me in many ways of Kennedy in 1960. The
pundits said he was Catholic and too young and inexperienced and wasn't a
member of the party's inner circle. They forgot that the nomination wasn't
decided in Washington but out in the field,"




http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/12-17-2006/0004492582&EDATE

[Bucky]

19. Sorenson's a propagandist

The Kennedy nomination was very much the work of insiders. Kennedy was the choice of the Southern establishment who couldn't support Humphrey and didn't trust Johnson. He screwed them mildly with his support for Civil Rights, altho he made his choice only after the crises were brought out by the Movement. He made the right choices when the time came. But my point is that Sorenson is not an objective assessor of Kennedy's legacy, as if you didn't know that.

[goodgd_yall]

24. What do you mean by Southern establishment?

Kennedy won less than half of the Southern states. That is quite a feat for a northeastern Catholic to get that many southern states, but, still, he didn't get the deep south except for Louisiana and his religion probably helped there, nor did he win Florida, Kentucky or Tennessee.

[goodgd_yall]

23. You may not care about his race

but it will be a tremendous move forward to have an African-American president. I actually can be influenced by that possibility.

[geckosfeet]

17. Bay of Pigs,,, brother Bobby

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Not much to say on this one. Brother Bobby was the last great hope.

[PatSeg]

20. We tend to have selective memories

I remember those days and there was a lot of controversy surrounding the Kennedy family and he was not beloved by all as we like to believe today.

Sometimes we tend to confuse the myth with the man, which is not to discount JFK's presidency. He was a smart, capable leader and an inspiring figure, but as your post reveals, there was no way of knowing that by his senate career.

[goodgd_yall]

25. Let's say then for those who liked Kennedy, he was beloved

not just "liked" or "approved of."

[PatSeg]

27. A lot of the beloved feelings I witnessed

came later, more in retrospect, when people realized what they had lost. When a president is in office, he isn't generally appreciated as much until later.

I knew people who didn't have a particularly high opinion of him at the time, but as the years passed they were able to see the historical significance of his presidency.

[goodgd_yall]

21. I agree, especially if the time as Senator as been short

If the Republicans make up a majority of the senate, there's going to be less success at getting bills to the point of being voted on. I don't know if that was the case when Kennedy was senator, but I think that can be a factor as well.

[smalll]

26. lol so what candidate is this supposed to help?

Edwards? Or Obama?
You know who was a raging womanizer with a pill problem? John Kennedy. Does that mean we should go out and find some kind of cross between Colin Farrell and Rush Limbaugh, and elect him President instead?