JFK'S MOST REWARDING AND DISAPPOINTING EVENTS OF 1961
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 15, 1962, President John F. Kennedy was asked by a reporter at his news conference to reflect on his first year in office by identifying "the most rewarding and disappointing events" that came "across his desk."
The President said...
"I would say the most disappointing event was our failure to get an agreement on the cessation of nuclear testing, because...that...might have been a very important step in easing...tensions and preventing a proliferation of...weapons...
The thing that...is the most heartening is the fact that...there's a greater surge for unity in the Western nations, and in our relations with Latin America."
JFK+50 NOTE
JFK's first year in office was a difficult one. I am surprised that the President did not say the failure of the U.S. sponsored invasion at the Bay of Pigs was the most disappointing. Perhaps he did not want bring attention to an event that has been described as one of the "Top Ten" presidential mistakes.
JFK would overcome the Bay of Pigs fiasco in the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and in October 1963 he would sign a Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty which he considered his greatest accomplishment.
SOURCE
"Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy," January 1 to December 31, 1962, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1963.
