Election 2008
BOK

In an historic moment, Ted Kennedy, his son Patrick Kennedy and his niece Caroline, the daughter of JFK, endorsed Barack Obama for President. In their view, BO is the next JFK, an agent for a new change in Washington, DC. How Hill and Bill must be fuming. Of course the entire endorsement thing is overwrought. They make good political theater but do not necessarily deliver votes.

There are assumptions in this endorsement. First, that a JFK is what the country needs. Second, that BO is the new JFK. Third, that the country wants a JFK like figure. It is often forgotten that JFK brought enthusiasm and excitement to the 1960 election but he was a narrow winner. And, tragically he only served until Nov. 23, 1963. Camelot and touch football were favorites of the press, but what kind of president was JFK?

It is true that his New Frontier was an answer to the Republican policies of Eisenhower, so his was a message of change. But, his presidency had its successes and failures just like any other. But his tenure is often painted as one of perfection and overwhelming competence. Because of his assassination, there was never a re-election to see if his decisions and policies were endorsed by the electorate.

Furthermore, this is a different world from the sixties. It was the cold war period and the threat was missiles in Cuba. Globalization and a world wide interconnected economy had not yet appeared. During JFK’s administration, the stock market had its sharpest drop since 1929. His response was Reagan like…cut corporate and individual taxes. He also had Congress give him tariff cutting power so he could trade with the European Common Market. His response was not that of the liberal Democrat of the BO stripe. Today, the threat to safety is not an identifiable enemy state like the Soviet Union. And, the American economy now has many competitors in this world for resources and in production. The security and economic problems today are much more complex. And the solutions thereto are elusive and lack permanence.

So, is BO the right man for this time? Time will tell and the electorate will decide. Those who Bill O’Reilly calls secular progressives often make light of the desire of some to return to the Ozzie and Harriet Days; those 50s values. Yet here is the old liberal lion Ted Kennedy and his family wanting to hearken back to the days of JFK for a solution to the current problems facing the USA. But what the country needs is a candidate who has a vision of how to deal with the security and economic issues of today, not the sixties. BO has brought enthusiasm and excitement to the Democratic primary. Now that he is anointed as BOK, it is time to hear how he plans on leading the country in solving the ongoing security and economic problems in this fluid, ever shrinking world. Returning to nostalgic images of the sixties wouldn’t do.