11.22.2010 11:05 PM

Forty-seven years

12 Comments

  1. Tired of it All says:

    Incredible. Who knows what dreams died along with JFK…

  2. allegra fortissima says:

    Germany will always remember – and never forget – John F. Kennedy’s Berlin speech:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6nQhss4Yc

    I also remember – and highly appreciate – John F. Kennedy’s book “Profiles in Courage”:

    “In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience – the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men – each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient – they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.”

    • John W. says:

      It’s about how we felt. . . THEN

    • allegra fortissima says:

      In December 1957, syndicated columnist Drew Pearson, interviewed on TV by Mike Wallace, said, ‘Jack Kennedy is… the only man in history that I know who won a Pulitzer prize on a book which was ghostwritten for him.’ Kennedy demanded a retraction. After Kennedy provided handwritten notices and Sorensen signed an affidavit attesting to Kennedy’s authorship, Pearson acceded. Historian Herbert Parmet, in his book The Struggles of John F. Kennedy (1980), concluded that although Kennedy did oversee the production and provided for the direction and message of the book, Sorensen clearly provided much of the work that went into the end product.

      In May 2008, Sorensen clarified in his autobiography, Counselor, how he collaborated with Kennedy on the book. ‘While in Washington, I received from Florida almost daily instructions and requests by letter and telephone – books to send, memoranda to draft, sources to check, materials to assemble, and Dictaphone drafts or revisions of early chapters.’ (Sorensen, p. 146) Sorensen wrote that Kennedy ‘worked particularly hard and long on the first and last chapters, setting the tone and philosophy of the book’ and that ‘I did a first draft of most chapters’ and ‘helped choose the words of many of its sentences’. JFK ‘publicly acknowledged in his introduction to the book my extensive role in its composition’ (p.147) Sorensen claimed that in May 1957, Kennedy ‘unexpectedly and generously offered, and I happily accepted, a sum to be spread over several years, that I regarded as more than fair’ for his work on the book. Indeed, this supported a long-standing recognition of the collaborative effort that Kennedy and Sorensen had developed since 1953. (Wikipedia)

      Besides, I don’t give a darn who wrote the Berlin speech – John F. Kennedy was there and spoke and will always be gratefully remembered for this by millions of Germans!

  3. Sean says:

    50 years: Civil Rights, landing on the Moon, no major world conflicts, a black man in the White House…

    “Some see the world and ask why? I dream of things that never where and ask why not?” RFK

  4. Ted H. says:

    Not to fuel conspiracy theories but someone somewhere must know what really happened. I have sometimes entertained the idea that when a new US President is elected, the people who really run the country let him in on the secret and warn him to play ball or it can happen to him.

  5. Pedro says:

    The man was a dog who cheated voluminously on his partner who supported him unflinchingly.
    His assasination was a tragedy for America since the sympathy for such a scoundrel hid the lies and deception in American politics until Watergate blew it open.
    I teach my daughters to be wary of men who behave this way.
    His policies left much to be desired also.
    People projected their dreams on him because he was physically attractive from a distance.
    Sorry, Warren.
    I do not understand the idolizing of such a person.

  6. Raymond says:

    I’m forced to agree with the above posters. Tragic and grotesque death? Absolutely. War hero? Without question. Great president? Not so sure. Intelligent, witty, telegenic and charming; I get that. The civil-rights movement and the Cuban missile crises could be summed up as successes. The Bay of Pigs and Vietnam certainly weren’t. And the chronic infidelity….behaviour totally unbecoming of the office, unless, of course, you’re Bubba. I believe that Mr. Kennedy’s death made him much greater than history would have otherwise deemed fit.

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