JFK, as significant a leader as he was,

was a hardcore Cold War hawk

He approved the invasion of other nations

and approved of regime change

as a tool of American foreign policy

Kennedy's arrogance helped precipitate

a confrontation with the Soviet Union

Wow! Obama as the second coming of JFK! Do we have to wait

until after his coronation for him to do the following:

(1) expand the war effort as JFK did

(2) use massive amounts of prescription drugs

(3) reanimate the corpse of Marilyn Monroe for sex?

For Republicans, it's Ronald Reagan. For Democrats, the name to invoke, the man whom one only has to mention to bring the party faithful out in a glow, is John F Kennedy.

Along with FDR, he is the patron saint of the Democratic party, the martyr who died for its cause. America is infatuated with its myths. There's nothing of substance

As a result, those who are linked by blood to JFK have a kind of sacred power. Which is why the endorsement of Barack Obama by the clan's patriarch, Senator Edward Kennedy, and by the assassinated president's daughter Caroline, is supposed to be so significant.

Almost as much as Obama's Saturday victory in South Carolina, they have given the Illinois Senator a substantial surge of momentum.

The chief value of the Kennedy nod is the validation it gives to the claim every Democratic candidate would like to make - that he, or she, is the "new JFK".

Caroline Kennedy all but said as much in her article in praise of Obama in the New York Times yesterday. Its headline: "A President like My Father."

Obama has touched the hem of the savior himself!

Do not confer any mantle of "sacredness" to a Kennedy endorsement when it comes from the mouth of Ted. Outside of Mass., a lot of Democrats actually loathe him, and are embarrassed that he is part of their party.

Any Kennedy endorsement should be the kiss of death for Obama's chances of becoming president. First Obama's friendship with a slum lord and now a Kennedy endorsement; something smells rotten in Camelot.

Reagan and Kennedy. Two disastrous "sacred cows."

Ronald Regan was a senile idiot on whose watch Iran-Contra happened, and who funded and armed the Taliban. His foreign policy decisions were reportedly made according to Nancy's tarot cards.

JFK was a crook with mafia connections, and constantly cheated on his wife.

If these two people are the shining lights of American politics then god help us all..

Let's hope this doesn't mean a President Obama would invade Cuba, get tangled up in Vietnam, and share a broad with a gangster. Or maybe he'd just drive off a bridge with his girlfriend.

Im surprised that Obama's fans welcome a Kennedy endorsement and a Kennedy comparison. Have we forgotten?

1) Kennedy sent 2 invasions to Cuba.

2) Kennedy and then LBJ approved the highest surge of troops in Vietnam, instead of finishing the lost war. Would you like Obama did the same in Iraq?

3) Kennedy is the only family in US politics that can be genuinely considered dynastic - At least Bush Jnr ran eight years after his father and Mrs Clinton 8 years after her husband finished his 2nd term (not the case of the Argentine President who continued immediately after the husband). Both of them have also been elected as Governor and Senator on their own.

Also, Bobby Kennedy was directly appointed by his brother. I thought Obama supporters disliked the dynasty business.

Finally, this forwarded to me this morning - Schedule of Events for the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver

7:00 pm ~ Opening flag burning.

7:15 pm ~ Pledge of Allegiance to the U. N.

7:20 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

7:25 pm ~ Nonreligious prayer and worship with Jessie Jackson

and Al Sharpton.

7:45 pm ~ Ceremonial tree hugging.

7:55 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

8:00 pm ~ How I Invented the Internet - Al Gore.

8:15 pm ~ Gay Wedding Planning - Barney Frank presiding.

8:35 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

8:40 pm ~ Our Troops are War Criminals - John Kerry.

9.00 pm ~ Memorial service for Saddam and his sons - Cindy Sheehan and Susan Sarandon.

10:00 pm ~ "Answering Machine Etiquette" - Alec Baldwin.

11:00 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

11:05 pm ~ Collection for the Osama Bin Laden kidney transplant fund - Barbra Streisand.

11:15 pm ~ Free the Freedom Fighters from Guantanamo Bay - Sean Penn.

11:30 pm ~ Oval Office Affairs - William Jefferson Clinton.

11:45 pm ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

11:50 pm ~ How George Bush Brought Down the World Trade Towers - Howard Dean.

12:15 am ~ "Truth in Broadcasting Award" - Presented to Dan Rather by Michael Moore.

12:25 am ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

12:30 am ~ Satellite address by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

12:45 am ~ Nomination of Hillary Rodham Clinton by Nancy Pelosi.

1:00 am ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

1:05 am ~ Coronation of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

1:30 am ~ Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.

1:35 am ~ Bill Clinton asks Ted Kennedy to drive Hillary home. (Remember Chappaquiddick?)

Mmmm

Never Trust a Kennedy

The only thing I can tell definitively after the South Carolina Democratic primary is that John Edwards is out, but I thought that before.

But not winning in the state of his birth pretty much seals the deal that Edwards will not live in the White House, at least not next year.

Barack Obama had a big win in South Carolina. For those who support him -- this victory was huge. Some are saying he took and handled everything the Clinton machine threw at him and prevailed.

Maybe so. When I see that 80% of the African-American vote went to Obama, I can't help but think that this may be a negative in attracting Hispanic votes .

It's the Hispanic voter that is increasing in weight in the country. Some suggest that a candidate who draws heavily from the African-American vote will lose the Hispanic vote, and vice versa.

We'll see. And the Hillary Clinton people say that they knew this was going to happen in South Carolina and thus sent her off to prepare for February 5th.

I think that the battle is looking very close -- and that Denver should be fun. I'm going to get my accommodations lined up now.

One last note on something that makes me feel very uncomfortable. Caroline Kennedy endorses Barack Obama today in an op-ed titled "A President Like My Father" and promulgates more of the ethereal mysticism about Obama being the new JFK.

I won't challenge Kennedy's own preferences or her own assessment of her dad's contributions to national life.

But I will say that JFK, as significant a leader as he was, was a hard core Cold War hawk. He approved the invasion of other nations and approved of regime change as a tool of American foreign policy.

While in the end, his intellect and the assembled high quality intellectuals he had around him kept the world from falling into a nuclear catastrophe with the Soviet Union, it was Kennedy's youthfulness and his combination of hawkishness and Wilsonian rhetoric that helped precipitate a number of crises.

Messing with the memory of any icon like JFK has its dangers -- but while Caroline Kennedy may not want to feature these parts of her father's legacy in her endorsement of Obama, I feel I must note them.

Obama is a compelling candidate who must know that gravity operates even in the White House.

Mysticism and gut will not assure our allies, deter our foes, restore confidence among our citizens, or make America regain its unique national and international character again.