Jonn F. Kennedy
- Thread starter Ripper77
- Start date
Are you kidding! Who doesn't respect and admire JFK. Being Canadian, catholic and of Irish descent I don't know of anyone who isn't fascinated by the entire Kennedy clan! 
I was a mere 7yr old lad when JFK was assasinated and they took us out of school and right to mass!
I was a mere 7yr old lad when JFK was assasinated and they took us out of school and right to mass!
I'm in my late fifties, and I can state with absolute certainty that JFK was, BY FAR, the most admired and loved US president (in Canada). No one else in my lifetime comes even remotely close. He's likely the only US President whose name appears on streets or buildings in Canada. Eisenhower would probably be a very distant second to Kennedy, albeit for very different reasons.
By comparison, I can't recall any US president in my lifetime who was as thoroughly disliked in Canada as the current President, G. W. Bush.
By comparison, I can't recall any US president in my lifetime who was as thoroughly disliked in Canada as the current President, G. W. Bush.
If I understood the show on PBS right somewhere in Canada they named a mountain after him, which Bobby Kennedy climbed
I agree completely. There are two Kennedy streets in Toronto I can think of.Avery said:
Kennedy "did the right thing" during the missile crisis. His generals were SCREAMING in his ear, attack, attack, nuke 'em, take them out, we can do it, don't be a pussy John, go in.
It would have been WW3, quite possibly the end of civilization as we know it. JFK stood tall to those loud mouth generals and avoided war with Russia. He gave Russia a way out and averted a war.
For that alone, he is a great man in my books.
On top of that, he worked hard against racism, to desegregate the south, Alabama in particular. He believed in what he did.
I think his quest for rights and freedoms was what ultimately got him shot.
His personal life was his personal life.
When i think of Kennedy, i think of a guy who had vision, a vision for the future, not the same old same old. Kennedy, and FDR, Truman were all men who looked beyond the end of their noses.
He was such a great speaker,his enthusiasm and vitality will never be matched.As a small boy i saw him come to Chester during his campaign .There was much more hope an optimism during that time.bbking said:
Kennedy was a good president but not a great man .james t kirk said:
I can't ignore his personal life and the way he treated Jackie.
The fact is people admired him because they didn't know the truth. I actually admire Clinton more at least we know the truth about him.
I admired Clinton too. He was without a doubt, one of the most intelligent presidents the US has ever had. Canada also had a much much better relationship with Clinton than president shrub. When Clinton came to Ottawa, he addressed parliament and got several standing ovations. Shrub just looks at us with xenophobic disgust and we see him for what he really is. A moron who can't even speak without a teleprompter in front of his beady little eyes.
Yes i think Clinton would have been elected again if it was allowed. He is still popular .james t kirk said:
I love that, president shrub thats good
Bush has made a mess of Iraq and he is not smart enough to get out. If they had improved things for the iraquis maybe they would have been better received , now they are just picking off americans.
Kennedy and Clinton were both attractive, dynamic, intelligent and energetic presidents. If Kennedy had been president during the 90s he would have been subjected to the same media microscope and his philandering would have been public knowledge even faster than Clinton's. The media kept a sort of distance back in the 60s that has since disappeared. I regret that Clinton's era ended in his personal affairs eclipsing his political accomplishments and I'm glad that Kennedy was, for the most part, spared that. I was only 6 months old when JFK was assasinated, but I do remember my Mom watching Bobby's funeral on television a few years later. (I was angry because it pre-empted the Flintstones). I was camping on Cape Breton when John Jr. died and didn't hear about it until two days later. I immediately moved to a hotel room so that I could watch the news and hope for a happy ending.
The Kennedy's are a strong name in politics, I'm sure Arnold's very happy to have that kind of clout behind him. Its sad that John Jr. passed away so young, it would have been interesting to see if he decided to go further later in life.
He was still young, far too young for politics perhaps, but given a few more decades he may have very well come into politics very strongly. The Kennedy's have deep roots still to this day in politics, lots of friends in places, its only a matter of time before another "Kennedy" makes their run for politics.ElfGoneBad said:
actually,
im not a Canadian but isnt it true that Kennedy had a frosty relationship with some Canadians particularly Lester Pearson over Cuba and especially vietnham, also was instrumental in opposing the progress of the avro arrow project. Canadians never really got behind the whole camelot facade
im not a Canadian but isnt it true that Kennedy had a frosty relationship with some Canadians particularly Lester Pearson over Cuba and especially vietnham, also was instrumental in opposing the progress of the avro arrow project. Canadians never really got behind the whole camelot facade
Re: actually,
Also how long do we have to keep seeing programs on the assasination, enough already . It has been 40 years i'm sick of it , anybody else.
This whole camelot thing was nonsense just foolish adulation for Jackie and her rich lifestyle. Given that John was having all kinds of relationships behind her back I don't know why people made such a fuss.gabe-reardon said:
Also how long do we have to keep seeing programs on the assasination, enough already . It has been 40 years i'm sick of it , anybody else.
Re: actually,
Lester Pearson and LBJ hated each other, mostly over Cuba and Viet Nam. The shit really hit the fan when Pearson made a speech in the USA criticizing its Viet Nam policy. That was considered a breach of diplomatic etiquette because he did it there instead of at home. Johnson told Pearson, "You pissed on my rug!"
US Presidents and Canadian PM's have rarely liked each other. Apart from the smarmy, superficial relationship between Mulroney and Reagan, the only reasonably solid one in my lifetime was between Clinton and Chretien.
The frosty relationship was between Kennedy and John Diefenbaker, then PM of Canada. They didn't like each other at all, however, Kennedy was extremely well liked by most ordinary Canadians, and his name still has a certain cachet. Whether or not Kennedy had something to do with the Avro Arrow cancellation, it was Diefenbaker who was blamed.gabe-reardon said:
Lester Pearson and LBJ hated each other, mostly over Cuba and Viet Nam. The shit really hit the fan when Pearson made a speech in the USA criticizing its Viet Nam policy. That was considered a breach of diplomatic etiquette because he did it there instead of at home. Johnson told Pearson, "You pissed on my rug!"
US Presidents and Canadian PM's have rarely liked each other. Apart from the smarmy, superficial relationship between Mulroney and Reagan, the only reasonably solid one in my lifetime was between Clinton and Chretien.
Re: Re: actually,
I think it is time to give up on all the assassination conspiracies, but as far as devoting TV time to honor JFK, I think that is great. I was far too young to have any real memories of his assassination, but as others have said, he was a dynamic public speaker, a shrewd politician, and truly did have courage and vision. When I see rebroadcasts of his speeches, I still am impressed,and even moved. His rhetorical "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" still packs a lot of power, imo, in this day of ingorant, selfish youth.booboobear said:
