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>>Yeah, remind me, how did that work out for JFK and the nation?
>For JFK - not well.
>For the nation - every time I use Medicare (often at my age) I think of the first Nixon-Kennedy debate where JFK proposed medical care for the aged and Nixon opposed it.
>It was passed after his death during LBJ's term, but he was one of the early supporters of Medicare.
>I became an admirer of his while in college after I read his Pulitzer Prize winning "Profiles in Courage" while he was still in he US Senate.
>While in college I sent him a copy of a speech by one of our professors that seemed to echo some of the ideas in the book.
>He graciously replied.

WOW!!

>Needless to say, I cherish that letter.
>It's hard to convey now what JFK meant to members of my generation. He was a war hero who could win a Pulitzer Prize - a rare combination.
>I saw him at a fundraiser in the garment center in NYC during the 1960 campaign. The reception he got was tumultuous.
>His death was a profound loss for us.

Since I was born in 1965 I missed out on his presidency, but I learned a fair amount about him in school (back then they still taught history in the schools lol). It'd been a long time since I saw the speech you posted the other day. We actually sat here and watched the entire thing last night :)