<<But in the end, Kennedy would have gone the way of all the political world had he not taken a tour of Dallas. Major events overrule reality all of the time. Larger-than-life trumps plain old life any day. In death, his contributions were magnified and his shortcomings swept under the rug. >>
No question that was a big factor.
So was youth. JFK was the first President born in the 20th Century. As TIME magazine pointed out, the country was in love with its victorious WWII heroes, but whereas the Eisenhower era represented the generation of WWII generals and theatre commanders, Kennedy represented a turnover to the generation of Lieutenants or other junior officers. JFK's style personified youth - - he was the first President not to wear a hat in public; he had great hair, a lovely young wife and two cute little kids. I think at the time I felt that Kennedy was really running against Eisenhower, but not in a hostile way, more like, it's time for you to quit driving, pop, and let your son take over the wheel. They were both veterans of the same war. So was Nixon, of course, but in a much less spectacular way.
Like Obama, JFK represented not only youth but change, Nixon, tied too closesly to Ike, represented same-ol' same-ol'. Americans were growing tired of the stale, confrontational politics of the Cold War and the excesses of the McCarthy era which, paradoxically, discredited the entire idea of confrontational, knee-jerk anti-communism. The growing civil rights struggle made it clear that the old ways of doing business down South were going to have to change. Americans were prosperous as never before and their new TV culture reflected a culture of affluence and change. If anyone remembers the "Pepsi Generation" ads of that time, they were bursting with youthful exuberance and openly challenging the old order. Americans were really ready for change - - the Birth Control Pill had brought them into the start of a sexual revolution and a new form of music - - rock 'n roll - - was blowing everything else off the charts. A big wave of change was hitting the nation on all fronts, and JFK was clearly the candidate who would be most conducive to change.
About 25 years ago, Bob Greene (Green?) a popular syndicated columnist wrote a column which he said brought in more mail than anything he'd ever written before. It was called "I dream of Kennedy," and it related a dream that he had begun having with some frequency - - he was back in the early 60s, JFK was still President, and all was well. Nothing interesting or dramatic happened in the dream, but it brought a sense of contentment and well-being. Apparently, a great many people - - myself included, which is why I recall the column so well - - had been having the same dream. After the turmoil of the mid- and late 60s, the ignominious loss of the Viet Nam War, the succession of charlatan Presidents (Reagan in particular, but not only Reagan,) the non-stop scandals, people were very nostalgic for an era when America was at peace, universally respected, prosperous as never before, bursting with optimism and happy. I tell my kids, if you want to understand the early 60s of Camelot, don't read any political or historical books or articles, just head to the video store and rent some of the Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedies of the time, rent "Pillow Talk" or "Lover Come Back" or "That Touch of Mink." If you can find a particularly obscure little film, "What's So Bad About Feeling Good?" then rent that too. They encapsulate the era.
JFK actually accomplished relatively little as President. He kept his distance from Martin Luther King and the civil rights struggle, not wanting to alienate the so-called Solid South. (solidly Democratic) LBJ, who got both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act passed, dwarfs all of JFK's accomplishments. But JFK inspired a bunch of Americans to dream big, he gave them renewed hope and faith in their country and he presided over a very happy and extremely prosperous and optimistic period of American history.
