JFK would have been 95 today
We tend to forget how young Kennedy was when he was elected, and still how young he was when he died.
He remains the youngest man ever elected president.
He died at the earliest age of any man to serve as President.
He was the first President born after 1900 - his immediate predecessor, Dwight David Eisenhower, had been born in 1890, graduating from West Point 2 years before Kennedy was born.
The last three presidents have been younger than I am. As young as Clinton was when sworn in, he was still older than Kennedy, who was the first president younger than my father, himself a veteran of WWII.
That presidency serves as a demarcation in American history. Not all that occurred on JFK's watch was good - after all, we embarked on the Vietnam adventure, its beginning now 50 years ago. We had the Bay of Pigs.
But Kennedy drew a line on Civil Rights which was important. He committed us to space exploration. He drew an important line on Cuba, and manage to end that confrontation without conflict.
Whatever we may think of him as a man, however we may think of parts of his presidency, it is certainly appropriate today to pause and reflect. His presidency may have been short, but its impact was important.
His death marked a loss of innocence for our nation. Remember, he rode in an open top car.
John F. Kennedy May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963.
He remains the youngest man ever elected president.
He died at the earliest age of any man to serve as President.
He was the first President born after 1900 - his immediate predecessor, Dwight David Eisenhower, had been born in 1890, graduating from West Point 2 years before Kennedy was born.
The last three presidents have been younger than I am. As young as Clinton was when sworn in, he was still older than Kennedy, who was the first president younger than my father, himself a veteran of WWII.
That presidency serves as a demarcation in American history. Not all that occurred on JFK's watch was good - after all, we embarked on the Vietnam adventure, its beginning now 50 years ago. We had the Bay of Pigs.
But Kennedy drew a line on Civil Rights which was important. He committed us to space exploration. He drew an important line on Cuba, and manage to end that confrontation without conflict.
Whatever we may think of him as a man, however we may think of parts of his presidency, it is certainly appropriate today to pause and reflect. His presidency may have been short, but its impact was important.
His death marked a loss of innocence for our nation. Remember, he rode in an open top car.
John F. Kennedy May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963.
