Comments on: John F. Kennedy: An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek

By: Bob Timmermann

Bob Timmermann — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:58:08 +0000

I read Gary Sheffield’s autobiography. I’m game.

By: berkowit28

berkowit28 — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:56:29 +0000

There may be some gaps in that series.

Hard to stomach there would be a biography of Spiro Agnew. There does not appear to be one as such. There are a couple of books on his resignation and his period with Nixon and, horrors, an *autobiography*. You wouldn’t have to read that. No one, surely, has ever had to read that.

By: Bob Timmermann

Bob Timmermann — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:11:06 +0000

That also means I’ll have to read a bio of Spiro Agnew.

By: grandcosmo

grandcosmo — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:04:52 +0000

I know its early in the game but you should do a series on Vice Presidential biographies next. You’ll have a head start as you will have already read the H.W. Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Truman, etc. books.

By: Bob Timmermann

Bob Timmermann — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 05:32:56 +0000

My yearbook backs up your story. I will not copy the photo and post it here.

By: Hollywood Joe

Hollywood Joe — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:51:00 +0000

Bob
I was a Golden Cougar too – class of 85!

By: John Stodder (aka dzzrtRatt)

John Stodder (aka dzzrtRatt) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:46:37 +0000

The rating seems high to me to, although I must admit, looking at that list, it is remarkable how many bad, unsuccessful or pernicious presidencies this nation has endured. JFK might have been the smuttiest, but his presidency was eventful and, as it unfolded, fairly successful. I think he gets credit for the halo effect after his death, which did help LBJ get the civil rights bill passed, as well as the tax cut.

The most meaningful comparison for Kennedy is against other Cold War presidents, also of whom also faced in some fashion the civil rights challenge. I’d rank the Cold War Nine as follows:

Kennedy
Reagan
Truman
Johnson
Bush 41
Eisenhower
Ford
Nixon
Carter

None of them was perfect. Each of them was a bit weird. All nine of them made at least one gross blunder, some of them several. But I think that, given the inherent difficulty of pursuing a 40-year strategy to contain and then overcome a foe that had the power to inflict unimaginable casualties on us, they deserve to be hailed. Of them, Kennedy was the only one who was truly tested with civilization on the line and the whole world watching. He passed the test, so he gets to be Top Cold Warrior.

By: Bob Hendley

Bob Hendley — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:05:03 +0000

Yeah, that rating seems a bit high, but I guess you have to give a lot of weight to avoiding a nuclear war. As a school kid, the nuns would have us practice hiding under our desks.

I guess the commemorate him on his death because of its tragic nature and that everyone alive at the time remembers exactly when they heard the news.