PRESIDENT KENNEDY WANTED MODERATION, BALANCE & FLEXIBILITY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 24, 1963, The Sunday Star published a front page column written by Mary McGrory* in tribute to the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
She wrote...
"(JFK) loved being President. He wanted to bring moderation, balance, flexibility--his own qualities to it."
At his last press conference, he was invited to castigate Congress. But this most rational man refused. It was not his style. Instead, he quoted from a poet, 'But Westward look, the land is bright.'
To the end, he was hoping reason would prevail."
*Mary McGrory (1918-2004) was born in Boston, Massachusetts & graduated from Emmanuel College. She became journalist & columnist specializing in politics writing over 8000 columns in her career. An ardent opponent of the Vietnam War, she made Nixon's enemy's list. MM won the Pulitizer Prize for Commentary, 1975 & the Four Freedoms Award, 1995.
JFK+50 COMMENT
Ms. McGrory is remembered for having said to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Asst. Sec of Labor, shortly following JFK's death, 'We will never laugh again.' To which Moynihan replied, 'Mary, we will laugh again. But we will never be young again.'
Those words were spot on. JFK was the youngest elected POTUS at 43 and was only 46 when he passed. Today we look at two potential presidential candidates in 2024 who will be twice that age at the end of their term. Voters on both sides would like to see more youthful candidates.
Ms. McGrory's column also reminds us that once we had a president who sought moderation. In our opinion, JFK would be appalled at the divisiveness in our politics today. That's not to say that there weren't strong differences of opinion in the politics of the 1960s. There were. JFK had difficulty getting his program passed in Congress due to opposition even within the Democratic Party. But, in his view, those differences were rarely personal.
SOURCE
"A Reporter Recalls the Dash, Glamor, Glitter, Charm," by Mary McCrory, The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., November 24, 1963, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
