Without the failure of The Bay of Pigs, for example, the world may have very well met its end. What has always pulled me toward considering Jack Kennedy a hero in spite of his personal shortcomings was his complete grasp of history.his willingness to admit and learn from mistakes.a determination to fight for the common man in spite of his own, less than common upbringing.along with the cool, detached and steady manner in which he chose to lead. Heroes, by their nature, if they are to be compelling, should be complex and flawed. Yes, JFK's face should be with the others in the Dakota hills and everyone should read Chris Matthews' book.Ĭhris Matthews' mind, razor sharp and astute in his political assessments, found its way to dissect the question of what draws Americans, to this day, to the compelling charm of JFK. In the Navy, I knew doing duty aboard the USS Intrepid how close we came to nuclear war and how Kennedy's handling gave us a reprieve from eternal death. Voting for JFK at 22 years of age and staying up all night waiting to hear and watch whether he beat Nixon. This was nearly 10 years after I saw JFK in New York City at the Commodore Hotel, at the Garment Workers rally, or the Auditorium off of Veterans' Memorial Hwy the Sunday before the election. Forty years ago I was involved in doing graduate research on JFK moving through the sources interviewing Dave Powers reading every single article and every single word Kennedy uttered. Maybe it is my empathy with Chris Matthews world.

Chris Matthews captured in his book what has been missing in so many other books about Jack Kennedy - his soul. I just finished reading Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero.

JACK KENNEDY by Chris Matthews