Campaigning on change, hope, & progress, Sen. Barack H. Obama has been heralded the “new” JFK. These are heady times, folks. We have the messiah of change, hope, & progress all wrapped up in one Sen. Barack H. Obama, the “new” JFK. Typical of campaign rhetoric, one might come away with a different conclusion when we actually pay attention to how JFK excited Americans in the 1960s:
Economy:
JFK: “To achieve these greater gains, one step, above all, is essential--the enactment this year of a substantial reduction and revision in Federal income taxes. For it is increasingly clear--to those in Government, business, and labor who are responsible for our economy's success--that our obsolete tax system exerts too heavy a drag on private purchasing power, profits, and employment. Designed to check inflation in earlier years, it now checks growth instead. It discourages extra effort and risk. It distorts the use of resources. It invites recurrent recessions, depresses our Federal revenues, and causes chronic budget deficits.” (Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union, January 14, 1963)
Sen. Barack H. Obama:
“I suspect a lot of this crowd--it looks like a pretty well-dressed crowd--potentially will pay a little bit more. I will pay a little bit more..." (response to question about letting tax cuts lapse, 1/30/2008)
“Domestically, our national debt and budget constrain us in ways that are going to be very far-reaching. And I think whoever is elected in 2008 is going to be cleaning up the fiscal mess that was created as a consequence of the president's tax cuts.” (Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.155 Oct 30, 2007)
Religion in America:
JFK: “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)
Sen. Barack H. Obama: “This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.” (“Call to Renewal” Keynote Address, 6/28/2006, http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/)
Cuba:
JFK: “Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information of this nature last Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., I directed that our surveillance be stepped up.”
JFK: “Finally, I want to say a few words to the captive people of Cuba, to whom this speech is being directly carried by special radio facilities. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty and justice for all. And I have watched and the American people have watched with deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed-- and how your fatherland fell under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders inspired by Cuban ideals. They are puppets and agents of an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends and neighbors in the Americas--and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a target for nuclear war--the first Latin American country to have these weapons on its soil.”
Sen. Barack H. Obama: “Our longstanding policies toward Cuba have been a miserable failure, evidenced by the fact that Fidel Castro is now the longest-serving head of state in the world. If our isolationist policies were meant to weaken him, they certainly haven’t worked. I believe that normalization of relations with Cuba would help the oppressed and poverty-stricken Cuban people while setting the stage for a more democratic government once Castro inevitably leaves the scene.” (Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization, 2004)
Enemies of Freedom
JFK: "...to prevent a Communist takeover of Vietnam which is in accordance with a policy our government has followed since 1954." (President Kennedy justifies the expanding U.S. military in Vietnam)
JFK: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge--and more…. Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed…. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)
JFK: “...It was not General Marshall's speech at Harvard which kept communism out of Western Europe--it was the strength and stability made possible by our military and economic assistance. In this administration also it has been necessary at times to issue specific warnings--warnings that we could not stand by and watch the Communists conquer Laos by force, or intervene in the Congo, or swallow West Berlin, or maintain offensive missiles on Cuba. But while our goals were at least temporarily obtained in these and other instances, our successful defense of freedom was due not to the words we used, but to the strength we stood ready to use on behalf of the principles we stand ready to defend.” (Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, November 22, 1963)
Sen. Barack H. Obama: “We must remember that the cost of going it alone is immense. It is a choice we sometimes have to make, but one that must be made rarely and always reluctantly. That is because America’s standing in the world is a precious resource not easily rebuilt.” (Senate Floor, 3/21/07)
Military Service:
JFK: PT 109 - 'nuff said.
Sen. Barack H. Obama: None.
If Americans are looking for a “new” JFK, then we already have him in the White House. At least, when we base the comparisons on actual content, we do.
Economy:
JFK: “To achieve these greater gains, one step, above all, is essential--the enactment this year of a substantial reduction and revision in Federal income taxes. For it is increasingly clear--to those in Government, business, and labor who are responsible for our economy's success--that our obsolete tax system exerts too heavy a drag on private purchasing power, profits, and employment. Designed to check inflation in earlier years, it now checks growth instead. It discourages extra effort and risk. It distorts the use of resources. It invites recurrent recessions, depresses our Federal revenues, and causes chronic budget deficits.” (Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union, January 14, 1963)
Sen. Barack H. Obama:
“I suspect a lot of this crowd--it looks like a pretty well-dressed crowd--potentially will pay a little bit more. I will pay a little bit more..." (response to question about letting tax cuts lapse, 1/30/2008)
“Domestically, our national debt and budget constrain us in ways that are going to be very far-reaching. And I think whoever is elected in 2008 is going to be cleaning up the fiscal mess that was created as a consequence of the president's tax cuts.” (Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.155 Oct 30, 2007)
Religion in America:
JFK: “The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)
Sen. Barack H. Obama: “This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.” (“Call to Renewal” Keynote Address, 6/28/2006, http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/)
Cuba:
JFK: “Upon receiving the first preliminary hard information of this nature last Tuesday morning at 9 a.m., I directed that our surveillance be stepped up.”
JFK: “Finally, I want to say a few words to the captive people of Cuba, to whom this speech is being directly carried by special radio facilities. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty and justice for all. And I have watched and the American people have watched with deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed-- and how your fatherland fell under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders inspired by Cuban ideals. They are puppets and agents of an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends and neighbors in the Americas--and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a target for nuclear war--the first Latin American country to have these weapons on its soil.”
Sen. Barack H. Obama: “Our longstanding policies toward Cuba have been a miserable failure, evidenced by the fact that Fidel Castro is now the longest-serving head of state in the world. If our isolationist policies were meant to weaken him, they certainly haven’t worked. I believe that normalization of relations with Cuba would help the oppressed and poverty-stricken Cuban people while setting the stage for a more democratic government once Castro inevitably leaves the scene.” (Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization, 2004)
Enemies of Freedom
JFK: "...to prevent a Communist takeover of Vietnam which is in accordance with a policy our government has followed since 1954." (President Kennedy justifies the expanding U.S. military in Vietnam)
JFK: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge--and more…. Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed…. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961)
JFK: “...It was not General Marshall's speech at Harvard which kept communism out of Western Europe--it was the strength and stability made possible by our military and economic assistance. In this administration also it has been necessary at times to issue specific warnings--warnings that we could not stand by and watch the Communists conquer Laos by force, or intervene in the Congo, or swallow West Berlin, or maintain offensive missiles on Cuba. But while our goals were at least temporarily obtained in these and other instances, our successful defense of freedom was due not to the words we used, but to the strength we stood ready to use on behalf of the principles we stand ready to defend.” (Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas, November 22, 1963)
Sen. Barack H. Obama: “We must remember that the cost of going it alone is immense. It is a choice we sometimes have to make, but one that must be made rarely and always reluctantly. That is because America’s standing in the world is a precious resource not easily rebuilt.” (Senate Floor, 3/21/07)
Military Service:
JFK: PT 109 - 'nuff said.
Sen. Barack H. Obama: None.
If Americans are looking for a “new” JFK, then we already have him in the White House. At least, when we base the comparisons on actual content, we do.
2 comments:
Excellent post, Chuck!
I listened to Dennis Prager the other day, and a caller asked why Dennis thought JFK would be a Republican today. He said that JFK stood for a strong military and lower taxes. Those values now belong exclusively to the Republican Party. It's not the JFK liberals that left the Democratic Party, but the Democratic Party that left the JFK liberals with no place to go but the GOP.
Skyepuppy,
Right on the mark as usual. Naturally, Democrats & liberals get upset when conservative invoke the name & message of JFK.
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