JOHN F. KENNEDY TAPES: Richard Nixon, the S.O.B.

[johnny511000]

JFK should have never criticized Nixon, considering that JFK bought the 1960 election with his father's money, but Nixon did not request a recount or investigation. JFK could thank Nixon for the presidency, because Nixon basicallly gave it to him.

[joshweiss01]

@johnny511000 Yes a Nixon presidency in 1960 would have given us a nuclear war in 1962, because you know he would have bombed Cuba rather than have an embargo and the soviets would have invaded West Berlin in response. If Kennedy bought that election it was the best money ever spent!

[iown813]

@joshweiss01 nonsense. he would have bombed cuba? are you a psychic or something? pure speculation.

[bookguitarguy]

@johnny511000 Faulty logic. JFK's father Joseph may have called in some help from mafia contacts to win Illinois, but according to journalist/syndicated columnist Jack Anderson, it was done w/out JFK's knowledge-& he was extremely angry when he found out about it. Mafia apparently thought JFK should treat them better bc of it, & were angry when he didn't. He & RFK were against organized crime, & I respect JFK for not caving in bc of the election. His integrity gave him a right to criticize Nixon

[Yellyist]

There were some fraud in Chicago, but Kennedy won the election fair and squre. He won the popular vote, and he won Illinois. Nixon won the 68 election by commiting treason. Nixon sabotaged an peace treaty with Vietnam so that he could be elected. If president Johnson had secured a peace treaty with Vietnam prior to the 68 presidential election Nixon would have lost.

[BartA22]

@johnny511000 Money or no money...JFK whipped Nixon's a** in 1960....absolutely wiped the floor with him during the first, and most critical presidential debate. But you are right in that Nixon gave it to him....Nixon made multiple critical errors during the campaign....the biggest was his decision to debate Kennedy, which Ike had advised against but Nixon went ahead thinking he was a master debater. Bad move.

[tenthbullet01]

"Most people are unaware of the tremendous burden I must bear, I am the only thing standing in the way of Richard Nixon and the White House." -JFK

[BobReidy]

Kennedy and Nixon actually had great admiration and respect for eachother and Kennedy perfered him to alot of his Democratic colleuges who he thought were to soft on communisim.JFKs father donated to Nixons Senate campaign as well.

[williwo]

@BobReidy Thats interesting. I suppose thats possible. So are u basically saying that politics just got in the way??

[BobReidy]

Yeah.

[williwo]

@BobReidy u have a source I could maybe read on that?

[jasmcc1]

kennedy had no knowledge of foreign policy nixon blew his doors off its funny how kennedy puts him down he actually offered nixon a position on his staff im saying nixon was a great all i say is kennedy and his brother and bob mcnamara started vietnam by killing diem it started chaos causing johnson to intervine massively

[oIdmac1]

@jasmcc1 Stop lying, you piece of shit. LBJ is already on tape saying he was a part of the murder of Diem. Kennedy had nothing to do with it. LBJ and his military / industrial complex friends wanted that war.

[BartA22]

@jasmcc1 Kennedy had no knowledge of foreign policy? Kennedy knew more about foreign policy than virtually anyone. He was with his father in Britain when Joe Kennedy served as Ambassador to Britain prior to WWII. Kennedy's entire life was lived with politics and diplomacy around him constantly.

[tenthbullet01]

@williwo Actually, both Kruschev and Castro had a great respect and admiration for Kennedy. Khrushchev said as much in his memoirs. Brothers, the book which came out two years ago about Jack and Bobby confirms the Castro claim.

[uyd]

Johnson greatly escalated our involvement in Vietnam, not a good policy at all.

[mrbrandon71]

not just SOB, but LYING SOB! ROFLMAO! So true as it turns out....so true.

[OzzyFan87]

JFK was really on it.

[misscarolinec]

"Sonofabitch' 1:05

[TheKentuckykid9513]

All jfk did in the bay of pigs from send som

E cuban refugees with guns to get slaughter he cheated on his wife his dad was a bootlegger his brother killed a woman while he was driving drunk and didn't report it untill the next day so his daddy could try and cover it up Bobby was the only sensonable one

[pat442389]

@TheKentuckykid9513 hahaha when teddy crashed with mary joe his dad couldnt speak or walk and was in the last few months of his life, jfk didnt even kno the full plans to the bay of pigs. the cia made them shitty thinking jfk would send the us military in to save them, he didnt. theres no proof his dad was a bootlegger, but he did fuck ppl over in the stock market like all poowerful men did back then. laura bush killed a hs classmate in a car crash, gwb went AWOL and had daddy cover it up in 73

[1916jutland]

It's good to know that there are some educated people on You Tube who know their history.

[1916jutland]

Nixon received Mob money when he and JFK entered congress. He continued to receive it and the day after he resigned he went play at a Mob owned golf course. The Mob didn't want JFK to be President. You need to see the footage of RFK attacking Hoffa and the Mob. Nixoncould have contested the election, but the Mob gave him a ton of money. JFK didn't need anyone's money and that's what made him dangerous. They didn't give him 3 years in office. He and RFK gave their salaries to charity.

[jayteso]

the mob helped jfk become president in chicago thats why they were mad at him for appointing rfk as attorney general who put pressure and wire taps and surveillence on the mob

[1916jutland]

You don't know your history. JFK and RFK were the last people on the planet the mob wanted in power. You evidently didn't read what I wrote below. The main reason why this bunch of lies was dreamed up is because the Govt. wants you to believe JFK was no good and he had to get the mob to become President. That makes many people think he was no good and he deserved what he got. JFK saved us from WWIII just 13 months before. He needs to be recognized for that. We wouldn't be alive today.

[jayteso]

Granted he was very good handling the cuban missile crisis but at the same time there wouldn't have been a cuban missile crisis had the bay of pigs been a success. And there no question the mob gave JFK contribution money it wasn't JFK that so much opposed the mob as it was RFK who went after them and thats why they were so angry with the JFK because he backstabbed them know your shit before you spew it

[WJJ1968]

Very true. Bobby Kennedy wrote a book entitled, "The Enemy Within" that detailed his experienced in his crusade against organized crime, especially in Gary, Indiana where he basically had the whole toen's political figures thrown out or put in jail.while he was Attorney General.. He was definitely not the Mob's boy.

[williwo]

@1916jutland Thats actually incorrect and shows YOU dont know your history. The Kennedy-Mob connection is very well known and goes back to Joseph Kennedy and his corrupt dealings.....including his illegal moonshine business. There is much evidence that suggests that Richard Nixon in fact won the popular vote. Ever wonder why the election was THAT close. Theres no question the Mob assisted his campaign. The evidence is overwhelming.

[williwo]

@1916jutland Do your research and stop trying to downplay others who HAVE done research. Otherwise you just come across as naive.

[williwo]

@1916jutland Also JFK didnt save us from ANY World War. In fact, in regards to foreign policy he was a failure. HE is actually the one who first brought us to Vietnam, not Johnson. The Bay of Pigs was a complete failure as well. Castro never would have started a World War. He had just gotten into power and was just exercising his ego. Khruschev also thought JFK was a joke and mocked him after their meeting.

[ChrisDutch]

@williwo Actually Kennedy did NOT bring us Vietnam. While he expanded the number of advisors he repeatedly fought with memebrs of the military and actually had to strong arm McNamara into following a specific policy line. Kennedy had scheduled a withdrawal from Vietnam when he was killed. the Bay of Pigs was Nixon's and the CIA's idea; Kennedy really found out about it on the day it happened.

[williwo]

@ChrisDutch Thats incorrect....Kennedy was the PRESIDENT. Him finding out about it the day it happened is absurd. Nixon wasnt even involved with politics at the time. He was on hiatus. He had nothing to do with Bay of Pigs

[williwo]

@ChrisDutch A major operation like the Bay of Pigs isnt just going to happen without the President's approval. Of course Kennedy knew about it. If he didnt....a major investigation would have been launched and a lot of people would have been fired.

[Trosanboss]

@williwo he approved it but the CIA lied to him about it from the start and he sensed that which is why he helfd back air support for it and it failed,he also completely restructered the CIA after that firing ALLEN DULLES,who had been director for a decade and handed over all peacetime intelligence oversight to the joint chiefs,unheard of before,this pissed off a lot of powerful ppl and set the foundations for the enemies he made which ultuitly led to his death........

[williwo]

@ChrisDutch You cant just act like Kennedy was some saint that was completely free of error. That couldnt be further from the truth

[jspecaspec23]

@williwo Fuck his flaws he loved America and was a great President in the time her served and was a War Hero. Who cares how many woman he slept with..Jealousy bleeds from you orifices sir.

[williwo]

@1916jutland Actually, you're showing your own lack of history. Its a well known fact that the Kennedys were connected to the Mob going back to Joe Kennedy's illegal moonshine operations. You think just because RFK PUBLICLY crusaded against the Mob that there was no friendly connection?? Please. Havent you ever heard of the term "Double-Dealing?" The Kennedys acted like they were against the Mob, but cut deals in behind the scenes. Dont be so nuave. The Kennedys were no saints by any standard

[neworleansnatureboy]

@1916jutland Where's your proof?

[1916jutland]

@neworleansnatureboy If you did any kind of research you wouldn't have to ask that question. The proof is in the thousands of hours of news reports. They were on live TV for the whole world to see.

[0907oliv]

No matter how negative his comments are about Nixon in any of these tapes. They pale in comparison to the pettiness and negativity expressed by Nixon about JFK on the Nixon tapes.

[0907oliv]

JFK started making these recordings because someone suggested that he do it so that he could use the tapes to write his memoirs. He sometimes forgot that he had the tape on - sometimes left it on by accident. It probably never occurred to him that these recordings would be made public. This is all we've got in terms of his memoirs. He started recorded in June, 1962. Too bad we have no recordings from 1961 when his generals wanted him to make a first strike (nuclear) on the Soviet Union.

[Pinksnotgoth]

I just had to a book report on JFK, I use to think he was a hero but now I know the truth about him, i am dissapointed. JFK wasn't a good/smart guy his whole political career was based off his daddy spending millions to cheat for him in every election all the way from the House up until the Presidency. He was the most corrupt person and biggest fraud/cheater to ever become prez.

[ldt6v8]

Facts please!!

[deltapunk21]

Kennedy lied, this piece of shit only had his tape system on when he wanted it on hence the few tapes, he only only allowed people to hear a small contrlled snippet of bullshit that outright falsehood.

Kennedy was a putrid liar and scumbucket and after murdering 2 US allies deserved to have his head blown off.

[0907oliv]

See also "Was Nixon Robbed?" by David Greenberg.

[BartA22]

@0907oliv Give it a rest...Kennedy could have lost Illinois and still won the presidency....Nixon would have had to won both Illinois and Texas.

[0907oliv]

@BartA22 Yes, I know that and I agree with your other comments also. Thanks.

[BartA22]

@0907oliv My bad....I misinterpreted the case you were making...thanks for the reply.

[peetee1000]

@BartA22 ...and those were exactly the states where the mafia, in Illinois and LBJ and his buddies in Texas, had the votes rigged. I was ten on the night of the election. At about 10:00 PM Pacific Time, Nixon was ahead. My dad said, " You boys better get to bed, it looks like Kennedy lost." I wake up the next morning and my Dad is jumping for joy telling me Kennedy won by a narrow margin overnight...go figure.

[0907oliv]

Some folks have given some negatives here. But it is true, there were strange things going on with the Republican side in Illinois. Its just not out there in the popular culture. Check Wikipedia & other sources. It's not that simple - there are many opinions on this.

[0907oliv]

Most balanced accounts of the issues in Illinois in the 1960 election also examine accusations that the Republicans were doing their own voter fraud in parts of the state that were Republican strongholds.

[0907oliv]

To comment below re Mafia and JFK. JFK didn't need Illinois to win. He had enough electoral votes without Illinois. He won the election fair and square. Accusations regarding the mob are largely based on comments by an ex-girlfriend whom any historian worth his/her salt would not trust since a lot of her statements are too far out to be believable, she had a reputation for dishonesty, and the accusations came years after her initial testimony before Congress which did not implicatre JFK.

[rmm413c]

I'm not inclined to join arguments about RN vs. JFK (I like aspects of both), but I am firmly convinced that Khrushchev would never have foolishly tried to put nukes in Cuba had Nixon been Pres. K. knew Nixon (Kitchen Debate and K's trip to US) and his rep as a hardliner. K. thought he could push JFK around because he was not seen as such a hardliner and because of his waffling over the Bay of Pigs. At any rate, JFK handled the crisis properly and questions about Nixon must remain "what-if's."

[bondurango]

Notice, that whatever he may have thought of Nixon, JFK never precluded using Nixon as a resource. JFK always found a way to keep his options open.

[blackfinrick]

I always laugh when people speak of Nixon but can only quote watergate. In retrospect the bugging and covering up of the dnc was a mute point considering Nixon won by a landslide. The clinton Lewinski thing was gigantic in comparison. I grew up with Nixon. I was drafted and Nixon ended the war, so I didnt go. He was undisputably the best foreign policy pres.. I bought my first home for 47 thousand on a 18thousand a year salary. I would need to make 200k ayear to afford it now. he still my hero!

[mookie2637]

Ironic that JFK was a bit of a disaster for US foreign policy, while Nixon's administration was really good...

[BartA22]

@mookie2637 A disaster for US foreign policy? You can thank your lucky stars that Nixon wasn't the one who had to deal with the Cuban Missle Crisis.

[mookie2637]

@BartA22 OK< perhaps I'm exaggerating, but it seems to me that Nixon's admin (via Kissinger) managed very well in the 70s, while the Kennedy administration sowed some huge future problems in Vietnam and other issues Impossible to say how Nixon would have dealt with Cuba, but perhaps he wouldn't have let it even get to that stage? Suspect that history's view of Nixon will be kinder in the long term.

[lilkumarjones]

Yeah, he ended the war after he carried out secret bombings in the Country. The war didn't officially until after his resignation in 1975.

[thisnow1]

Start @ 1:04

JFK: "....Nixon is so unreliable...but if John [McCone] wants to do it [have Nixon meet with Dugalle], it's fine with me, but I'd hate to say to have Nixon be able to say that he was used by us because he's a sonnuvabitch..."

Good judge of character

[dpman72]

In today's Democratic party JFK couldn't even get in the primaries. He'd be considered a right wing nutjob. Today's DNC is everything he fought against. Libtards have killed it.

[thisnow1]

Respectfully, you're a dumbshit.

Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, et al wouldn't understand at all what the GOP stands for today.

It's the party of Nixon-Delay-Rove-Bush. How about you get your own political house in order before making shitty historical points.

[dpman72]

Typical Obamabot. You can't complete a sentence without profanity. Bet you wear a hat sideways too. Anyway, Reagan wouldn't even recognize the GOP today. You ain't seen nothing yet. Uh, Umm, Uhbama's gonna make Bush look like Kennedy. The office goes to the highest bidder now days.

[thisnow1]

"Bet you wear a hat sideways too." haha- you must be joking

"Anyway, Reagan wouldn't even recognize the GOP today." You're damn right, he said "An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world?" This is in stark contrast to the "let's-put-a-bald-eagle-on-tsh­irts-and-call-it-a-day" moron patriotism I'm just guessing you practice

[thisnow1]

"Uh, Umm, Uhbama's gonna make Bush look like Kennedy." Wow, another Rush-bot, that uhm criticism has been on the AM dial for quite a while- you would very gainfully employed at the zoo...as a parrot. Come on, where were you over the past **EIGHT** years on stuttering and uhm patrol?

"The office goes to the highest bidder now days." Nice non sequitur.

Your party twice nominated the disaster who is getting his pink slip tomorrow @ noon- you have no business talking about political parties

[dpman72]

I have no party. They're for those who can't think for themselves. Bush was a sock puppet for his dad's gang and Barry is one for Darth Soros. I don't have three hours a day to hear Limbaugh blather on about golf or his private jet. The patriotism I practice is for the government to protect our borders and not everyone else's, treat gang members like Al Qaeda, pave the roads and to stay out of our lives beyond that. Not to tell me what to eat, what to think, how to feeeeeeel, etc.

[copper2150]

Nixon was psychotic about everyone around him. Can you imagine if he was president when the Russians put missiles in Cuba what might have happened to this country? Thank God President Kennedy had the courage and nerve to stand up to the Russians.

[joe2stones]

Nixon was a much more competent president than JFK.

[bbordersisarenob]

wrong

[joe2stones]

Its true.

[leehr777]

They should have never BLOWN Jack's brains out in Dallas. Brains went everywhere.

[meloveicecream24]

jfk=better pres. than nixon could ever hope to be.

[giantcolt08]

nixon was a MUCH better potus than jfk....no contest

[tomster62]

Tricky Dick!!

Politics would be a helluva' good business if it weren't for the goddamned people. --Richard Nixon.

[thebig1]

JFK was an sob. Nixon had his problems but was a decent man and a solid President. His foriegn policy was and is a model for past and present presidents.

[mra333]

woa you're seriously dumb

[joe2stones]

your fucking dumb

[1976Fiat]

yeah, if it wasn't for that little felony, and the healthcare, and all the bombs, he'd go down as one of the best

[cromwellian13]

Holy cripes. Go vote for McCain and then get an education.

[yellyman]

Which one of the two had to resign in shame because of corruption??? Keep your mouth shut about Kennedy. You`re not worthy of speaking his name!

[aristottlesdeathwish]

Nixon opened up relations with china, but he still wasn't half the man Kennedy was.

[kelby67]

kennedy ? wtf did he ever do right !

[aristottlesdeathwish]

are you kidding? He proposed the civil rights act of 1964, helped get funding for the apollo project that landed us on the moon, gave our support to west Germany, created the Partial test ban Treaty that slowed the arms race, created the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women which informed the president on the status of women in society, and the list goes on!

[joe2stones]

Nixon was in favor of civil rights before the Kennedys were.

[keikoreo]

Kennedy made a huge political gamble in '63 when he pushed for the Civil Rights bill. Had he been able to run in '64 this initiative could have lost the presidency for him. Nixon wouldn't get out of Vietnam until after he had won his second term.

[sean2015]

Actually, you're mistaken. Kennedy did not push for the Civil Rights Act before his death. He only sought to reassure the public that this issue was on their agenda.

In reality, Kennedy wanted to wait until after the '64 election before tackling the Civil Rights issue.

[keikoreo]

Respectfully, he threw his hat into the ring. He knew that even drumming up support for the Civil Rights movement was a hot button topic with voters. If he had truly wanted to avoid controversy, he would have waited until after '64. True, he did not push for Civil Rights before his proposal in June of '63, and between then and November he had Berlin, the NTBT, and Vietnam on his plate. But he still made the committment in his speech. The sad truth is, we'll never know what he would have done.

[sean2015]

I think Kennedy was walking a tightrope. He wanted to reassure his Democratic base that this issue was on his agenda, but he didn't want to offend the conservatives in the south by pushing too hard or too quickly. I still think he would've tackled Civil Rights as president, but he would've waited until after the '64 election.

[keikoreo]

I agree with what you're saying, although the timing of Kennedy's Civil Rights speech (the same day as George Wallace barring the doors at U of Alabama) seems like a reactionary decision. Wallace's actions, and his arrogance, infuriated JFK. He responded with announcing the bill and sending it to Congress eight days later--pretty fast work! I think it was less about planning than it was about finally getting as mad as Bobby. Good analysis though! He was definitely walking on thin ice.

[sean2015]

With all due respect, I still believe that Kennedy was taking his time about moving forward with the CRA. Kennedy was known for making condescending statements about people of color, once referring to them as "poor bastards". However, I agree with your characterization of Bobby Kennedy, who maintained a stronger sense of religious faith than his older brother.

Of course, after JFK's murder, he became a martyr in the public's eye, so LBJ had no trouble pushing the CRA through Congress.

[keikoreo]

True, JFK didn't jump on the bus with the Freedom Riders. And though he may have made condescending statements about minorities (trust me, as a minority I've heard far worse remarks), he made many efforts to support integration and equal opportunity employment. In fact, JBK made sure the National Guard bearing his body to Arlington was integrated due to his complaint on Inauguration Day about the lack of integrated troops.

If you're looking for a good RFK/LBJ book, 'Mutual Contempt' is great!

[sean2015]

Well, there's no question that RFK and LBJ hated each other's guts. RFK actually once confronted LBJ and implicated him in his brother's assassination.

If it makes you feel any better, even whites face derogatory insults from time to time. As 1st generation Irish, I grew up hearing constant insults from my schoolmates about my pale skin and strong Celtic features.

Nice profile picture BTW, but a cute face is not necessarily going to get me to support everything you say. ;-) LOL

[keikoreo]

Just saw Frost/Nixon, fantastic (if not faithful to history), really humanizes Nixon.

LBJ hated RFK, but admired JFK tremendously in the Senate--not for his politics as much as his extracurricular activities. 1960-1963 were tough years for LBJ, however. He could have easily started hating JFK, though probably not as much as he hated Bobby.

Well, if a cute face doesn't help my case...wait...you did say, 'not necessarily'...;) Thanks for the compliment!

[sean2015]

LOL. Well, my point is, I'm not going to agree with you just because of the pretty face (assuming that is you in the photo). :-) I know with most guys you think you can get away with murder, but not with this one. :-) I wouldn't say LBJ "liked" Kennedy. Maybe when they had been Senators, but certainly not after JFK became president. LBJ hated being vice president. He found the job boring and felt he was always kept out of the loop on key issues.

[keikoreo]

;) That's certainly me (albeit with a better tan than I have today...winters in Seattle are awful). Murder? No, I haven't tried that, only a free drink at the bar. And my powers of persuasion go beyond a wink and a smile. Apparently when JFK asked for LBJ's opinion in meetings, he sided with the President, believing that the VP shouldn't show dissent in front of other advisers. This exasperated JFK, who liked to have a variety of views to consider. LBJ felt muzzled while JFK thought him useless.

[sean2015]

:) Well, a girl has to EARN my respect before I buy her any drinks, though I am a sucker for Asian-American girls I'll admit. Interesting what you wrote. But also consider that the job of the VP was much different back then. It wasn't until the Carter administration that the VP even had an office at the White House. LBJ and JFK definitely disagreed on one issue, and that was Vietnam. In fact four days after Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson signed an order escalating American involvement there.

[keikoreo]

Wow, did not know VP office at the WH was a relatively recent addition. LBJ was always more hawkish than JFK (during the Cuban Missile Crisis, he was for the strike/invasion), but certainly after being Senate Majority Leader he must have felt powerless as VP.

So if you're a sucker for Asian-American girls and I earn your respect, does that mean you will send me a case of vodka? =)

[sean2015]

Yep. Walter Mondale (Carter's VP) was the first VP to have an office in the White House. In fact, not until Gerald Ford's presidency did the VP even have his own official residence (1 Observatory Circle). I didn't know LBJ was for the airstrike and invasion. Not that his opinions ever mattered to Kennedy anyway.

A case? A "CASE"?! I might take a couple of vodka shots with you but no way am I buying you a whole case. I might be a sucker for Asian girls but not if they're lushes. ;-)

[keikoreo]

Well, it was probably best for the country that Agnew wasn't any closer to the WH than he already was...JFK really tried to make sure LBJ was alerted to Cabinet meetings and would get angry when his staff forgot to invite him, but it was on a personal level, not professional. RFK was JFK's "No. one-and-a-half".

lol NOT a lush! Just have a lot of of party-loving Asian girlfriends (we can't hold tequila) who like cocktail hour but wish we could save on liquor for dancing shoes!

[sean2015]

LOL. That was a joke of course. I'm sure you're not a lush. And you're preaching to the choir - I can't hold my tequila either. I tried some for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was worshipping the porcelain god. ;-) Well keikoreo you seem to be a bona fide American History buff and a JFK junkie just like me. So in addition to being an exotic Asian girl you're also very bright - I'm impressed.

Just lay off that tequila or your head will start to feel like JFK's back. ;-) Peace.

[grumpytosnowwhite]

Well, to be fair, it's hard to understand civil rights if you came from a priviliged aristocratic family like that. Bobby got pissed over civil rights early, because he was a very hands-on investigator. Plowing around in the corrupt nightlife looking for mobsters probably got him an eyeful of the crap blacks were subjected to. JFK got really enraged as well, though, after the James Meredith fiasco with all the race riots. That was the thing that opened his eyes, according to his friends.

[BoleynofAragon21]

I think that JFK got his eyes opened but as I say in a story he was very naive, too naive the guy WANTED TO PLEASE EVERYBODY, you don't do that, he failed to understand that to do things sometimes others have to be nailed down, and I think that james meredith and early in his presidency as it progressed and things got harder, people saying and some I understand why they said he did not deserve to be presidnet, after that I think he finally opened his eyes and decided to do action.

[0907oliv]

JFK was practical and didn't think there was Congressional support for civil rights legislation - and said so. Already unpopular in the South because of his Catholicism, he feared losing the South in 1964 and losing the election. A practical concern. Once he realized this was an issue that could not wait any longer, he made his civil rights speech (one of his best) and presented legislation to Congress. As expected, his popularity dropped to the lowest point in his presidency.

[allfury1]

probably gave your mom welfare ...but that's another matter.

[ITILII]

getting out of Vietnam, issuing real money, stopping nuclear testing, civil rights for all Americans...Kennedy was the best president of the 20th century. As for what he did right along with the above, not invading Cuba during the missile crisis may well account for you and millions of others being alive today

[loverofbeats]

I agree with you on Nixon's foreign policy credential but I think your wrong about JFK.

[nickchris17]

Nixon's smoothing of relations with the Soviets and Chinese was pretty shrewd, but his intention wasn't at all about creating peace. He just wanted his other policy of dropping bombs on the Indochinese region to not be interfered with. So his detene policies weren't successful in the way that he still failed to save 'Nam, Cambodia, and Laos from Communism. In fact, bombing them further into the stone age only weakened capitalism's chances to win out in the region.

[rmm413c]

Nick, you are wrong about Nixon here. Everyone who's done in depth research on Nixon knows that he was something close to obsessed with the USSR & China (the latter because he believed that it would inevitably become a leading world power because of its large population and strong culture and civilization). He wrote about China before becoming Pres, and made many diplomatic trips to both countries after he left office. For him, Nam was the unwanted distraction from his larger geopolitical goals.

[joe2stones]

Nixon was a very good president. JFK was average at best.

[richardcameron]

You weren't even alive to know what a lowlife scumbag Nixon was. He was on the take ($), he authorized a felonious break-in, and the war? He escalated it when he had diplomatic opportunities to end it. Had you been drafted, you might feel differently about him.

[BamaChris]

"On the take?" Nixon was a corrupt bastard, but if any politician was "on the take," it was JFK. Hell, the mafia got him elected.

[norr4636]

Kennedy 303

Nixon 219

Give Nixon Cook County and the State and JFK still win the Presidency

[sean2015]

I agree. I used to view Nixon in a very negative light myself, but history has gradually become kinder to him, and I've begun to look at him differently.

[3theThird]

JFK hit it on the head.  Nixon has proven to be a real s.o.b. many times over.