The Presidents Ranked by Historians

[Keystone Phil]

I hope this country gets over its JFK obsession relatively soon.

[Keystone Phil]

Grow some balls and put Reagan ahead of Lincoln... we all know you want to.

Not necessarily. We know Naso loves Reagan a lot but Reagan is my favorite President as well and I still consider Lincoln to be the best.

[Keystone Phil]

I hope this country gets over its JFK obsession relatively soon.

I wonder if you're exposed to more of it than most people because you spend so much time with older, politically active Catholics who either are or used to be Democrats. There's a natural generational limit to the JFK obsession. Amazing to think it has been nearly 50 years and we're still talking about it. Part of the reason I don't get nostalgic for the '80s is because when I was a kid, we were so heavily inundated with nostalgia for either the '50s or the late '60s by the media. (No one ever wanted to talk about the period from about '62 to '68.)

Maybe. The area of the world that I'm from (the white/Irish area) considers the man to be a saint. It gets even worse when you enter the political circles. The man is even beloved by our city Italians (though not as much as our hero, Frank Rizzo, Sr.).

I still think that this nation as a whole is obsessive. It's spread around the world, too...

I was looking at a Google street map of Naples, Italy. I'm browsing around, stumbled across something and was instantly disgusted...

"Via John Fitzgerald Kennedy"

Again, this is in Italy, not Ireland.

[Keystone Phil]

  I just don't see why people love him so much.

You had to go there, didn't you? 

OMG CATHOLIC

OMG YOUNG

OMG HANDSOME

OMG YOUNG

GREAT SPEAKER

HE WAS SO HANDSOME

HE CUT TAXES...!  (Even some of my fellow Republicans have to find reasons to go crazy for him.)

Ask people why they like JFK and I will guarantee most will start and roughly end with everything I posted above.

[Keystone Phil]

I think everyone really admires the Cuban Missile Crisis too, that whole episode is very romanticized in the American mythology

Eh, ok, but that probably only really matters to the older people that lived through it and really remember it.

Listen, I think most people admire Presidents and other leaders for very vague reasons. It's just that JFK seems to take the cake.

[Keystone Phil]

I've always liked JFK, but he is very overrated.  He wasn't even a great President, like Lincoln or FDR.  I just don't see why people love him so much.

He was young, handsome, a symbol of hope, and tragically died.

LOL

And he posts this just a few posts after my comments. Classic. I didn't include the whole "OH...WELL...HE DIED AND IT WAS SO SAD" line but that is an obvious reason why he's "great" and a "favorite" as well.

[Keystone Phil]

I think everyone really admires the Cuban Missile Crisis too, that whole episode is very romanticized in the American mythology

Eh, ok, but that probably only really matters to the older people that lived through it and really remember it.

Listen, I think most people admire Presidents and other leaders for very vague reasons. It's just that JFK seems to take the cake.

Don't underestimate the Cuban Missile Crisis, Phil.  I really think it was the best example of leadership by a President since WWII.  People fail to appreciate how close we actually came to a nuclear sh**tshow.  Kennedy was able to pull us through safely and with dignity, despite the fact that he had a number of forces within his circle (including his own brother) trying to prod him in every which direction.

I'm not debating his accomplishments. I'm obviously thankful that he was able to handle the situation. I'm just pointing out the ignorance among the masses when it comes to this guy.