JFK assassination

[jay_too]

Not that JFK was a saint -- he was the one who got us into Vietnam, like Pecker said.

Perhaps, Pecker was being amusing. If truth be known, the flawed Vietnam policy was a continuation of the Eisenhower and Truman commitments.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

Perhaps, Pecker was being amusing. If truth be known, the flawed Vietnam policy was a continuation of the Eisenhower and Truman commitments.

True enough, but it was JFK who made the final decision to go to Vietnam.

 

[dcwrestlefan]

I think we started sending "advisors" during the Eisenhower era and Kennedy continued this, and added some troops. Johnson is the one who really escalated things in Vietnam. It is his biggest legacy as president unfortunately. Similar to how waging war in Iraq will be Shrub's most notable move.

 

[thirteenbyseven]

Too many conspiricies, coincidences and connections to enumerate.
CASTRO= HIT MEN

ONE LONE NUT= NOT CREDIBLE

INSIDE JOB= C.I.A. + MAFIA

Possibly JFK was going to draw down troops in Vietnam, and some say he was going to do away with the Federal Reserve, all reasons for the illuminati to have him assasinated. One things for certain, it's doubtful we will ever know the truth.

 

[BobLeeSwagger]

It completely altered our history. Probably, JFK would have won in a landslide in '64, no Viet Nam war, maybe Bobby wins in '68, and no LBJ, no Nixon, no Watergate, no Agnew, and much faster advances in civil rights, gay rights, and women's rights, and a solidly liberal Supreme Court for many many years. The positive possibilities are endless.

So is the idealism, apparently. JFK's interest in civil rights was pretty brief and he didn't start showing much interest until what would turn out to be his last year in office. Assuming that the GOP would have put up Goldwater again, then yes, Kennedy would have won in a landslide, but I'm not sure that would have improved things that much. He basically would have replaced LBJ's term, so it's doubtful that the Supreme Court would have gotten much more liberal. And gay marriage was decades away back then, so it's unlikely that would have been accelerated.

I think it's unlikely that RFK would have had a better chance in '68 if JFK had lived. He was more popular after JFK's assassination than before, when he was considered by many to just be a crony. Agnew was the least of the nation's problems during the Nixon era. He was a loudmouth while more of the quiet guys were actually committing serious crimes.

There are some reasons to believe that the Kennedy administration would have serious difficulties if he hadn't been killed. At some point his sexual escapades could have turned into a real scandal. It could easily have been him screwing up the Vietnam fiasco instead, since he's the one who foolishly installed a corrupt autocrat there. And based on what is now publicly known about his many health problems, he might not have lived through a second term anyway.

At any rate, this is one of those situations where he died before he had a chance to really screw up, so he stays an idealist in people's minds. People like to wonder what Hendrix would have done if he hadn't died, but he might have ended up making crappy music instead. You never know.

 

[fredski49]

I have to agree here. Everyone blames LBJ for Vietnam, but it was actually Kennedy who started the process. So yes he was a good leader, but as so often happens, his effect for the positive has been hyped so much because of his untimely death.

 

[B_HappyHammer1977]

Oh darling, if I had a nickel for every time the phrase "time-space continuum" was used in RD, I'd be able to buy one of the "Quarantine" dresses.
I think the reason why the theory in TTR worked was because it attacked every single sacred cow of the Kennedy presidency and extrapolated the WORST possible outcome (like Stochi from "Holoship"). Yes, he was a womanizer. There were rumors of who (Mafia, CIA) had him in their pockets and what their reasons to cap him would have been. Doug Naylor did a brilliant job with the theory.

I'd love to see you in a gingam dress! --- sitting next to Dr Rock!

 

[B_caneadea]

So is the idealism, apparently. JFK's interest in civil rights was pretty brief and he didn't start showing much interest until what would turn out to be his last year in office. Assuming that the GOP would have put up Goldwater again, then yes, Kennedy would have won in a landslide, but I'm not sure that would have improved things that much. He basically would have replaced LBJ's term, so it's doubtful that the Supreme Court would have gotten much more liberal. And gay marriage was decades away back then, so it's unlikely that would have been accelerated.

I think it's unlikely that RFK would have had a better chance in '68 if JFK had lived. He was more popular after JFK's assassination than before, when he was considered by many to just be a crony. Agnew was the least of the nation's problems during the Nixon era. He was a loudmouth while more of the quiet guys were actually committing serious crimes.

There are some reasons to believe that the Kennedy administration would have serious difficulties if he hadn't been killed. At some point his sexual escapades could have turned into a real scandal. It could easily have been him screwing up the Vietnam fiasco instead, since he's the one who foolishly installed a corrupt autocrat there. And based on what is now publicly known about his many health problems, he might not have lived through a second term anyway.

At any rate, this is one of those situations where he died before he had a chance to really screw up, so he stays an idealist in people's minds. People like to wonder what Hendrix would have done if he hadn't died, but he might have ended up making crappy music instead. You never know.

Aloofman, I tip my hat to you for your excellent take on the subject.