Early boomers and older: Which do you think was JFK's bigger dream ........

[Stinky The Clown]

..... putting a man on the moon and getting him back ...... or putting a black man in the White House?

Edit .... I framed the question this way to get answers from people who recall Kennedy first hand.

[DJ13]

1. Actually...... neither

Just before he was assasinated he had signed an Executive Order to eliminate the Federal Reserve's ability to mint US currency.

I believe he wanted to end the bank's hold over our government more than anything else.

But what do I know?

:shrug:

[PDJane]

2. I firmly believe that

The reason he was assassinated is right there, in that statement.

[2hip]

3. Damn, you beat me to it

That was my first thought too. His desire to revamp the Federal Reserve is what got him killed.

[iquiring mind]

4. Why is JFK held to such high esteem?

I've tried asking this question before but did not receive any responses.

I did some very rudimentary research (some of these sources may not be the best, but it was an easy place to start) and am even more puzzled that people worship him the way they do.

Please read the links and comments below and respond with clarifications/corroborations. I am open to all comments. Just want to learn and understand his place in history.

Read links 1,2 & 3 for information on Kennedy’s role in the Cuban Missile Crisis
1 http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/
2 http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/moment.htm
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis
Read links 4 & 5 for information on Kennedy’s role in the Bay of Pigs
http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/baypigs/pigs2.htm
4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion
5 http://americanhistory.about.com/od/johnfkennedy/p/pkennedy.htm

Read links 6 & 7 for information on Kennedy’s role in Viet Nam
6 http://www.vietnamwar.com/johnkennedyrole.htm
7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy#Foreign_policy

Read link 8 for a quick summary of JFK’s foreign policy. Surprisingly it includes a link to Iraq and the Baath party, including Saddam Hussein.
8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy#Presidency_.281961.E2.80.931963.29
His Domestic Policy information can be found on links 8, 9, 10 & 11
In link 8 above, under Domestic Policy-Civil Rights, Kennedy shows more concern for politics than for Civil Rights. Many Civil Rights leaders even view Kennedy as unsupportive. In fact, the FBI’s investigation of MLK Jr. was largely superficial until 1962. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr. under King and the FBI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy (looking under “Early Political Career” I was surprised when I read the 4th paragraph)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 (I was again surprised to read the 1st paragraph, 3rd sentence, under “Political Repercussions”)
The above two links suggest JFK’s support for Civil Rights legislation was lukewarm, though his Executive Orders clearly show a strong support.

NOTE: Though JFK may have initially proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it clearly would not have passed with the aggressive support of Lyndon Johnson and the support of Republicans in Congress. Republican - 80% in favor. Democrats – 69% Senate, 61% House. Give credit where credit is due. Of interest: Al Gore Sr., J. William Fulbright (Clinton’s self proclaimed mentor) and Robert Byrd all voted against.

The only uncontested successes of JFK that I could find was the Revenue Act of 1964, his establishment of the Peace Corp and the Alliance for Progress. However, the Alliance for Progress was not an Earth shattering, ground breaking idea. It was essentially an extension of Eisenhower’s and Truman’s policies. The difference was instead of Europe or the Middle East, JFK focused on Latin America.

A comparison of the Kennedy Tax Cut (Revenue Act of 1964) is enlightening: http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/323.html

Amazingly, 69% of people say his Presidency was Great or Near Great!?! Believing in the image rather than facts! Please help me to better understand.
http://americanhistory.about.com/gi/pages/poll.htm?linkback=http%3A%2F%2Famericanhistory.about.com%2Flibrary%2Ffastfacts%2Fblffpres35.htm&poll_id=6556376022&poll=4&submit1=Submit+Vote

A very good article PT-109
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-11.htm

[Possumpoint]

5. Trying To

Understand why JFK was/is worshipped is like trying to understand why Reagan was/is worshipped; a lot of selective memory and media hype.