John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy was considered the greatest United States President since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Besides Obama, he was the only president who wasn't a WASP (though he was white, he was of Irish blood and he wasn't a Protestant, but an Irish Catholic). Made the early 1960s a period of infinite hope and progress. Kennedy is best remembered for his determined stand against nuclear bases in Cuba, his support of civil rights for African Americans, and his successful call for a human mission to the moon by the end of the 1960s.

JFK was destined to save thousands of American lives by pulling troops out of Vietnam, enact civil rights laws and many other generous actions. Sadly, he was brutally murdered by Communist sympathizer Lee Harvey Oswald.

Helping poor people
Kennedy was keen to help the American poor people as well as poor people in the Third World. He pledged to work at ending poverty and misery in his inaugural speech.

"To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required – not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

Kennedy himself was one of the few who are rich, he introduced food stamps and tried to introduce limited Medicare. it was left to Kennedy's successor, LBJ to get the first medicare. Would Kennedy have done more given time? Anyway he was killed before he could do very much.

Brief life history
He was in the Navy (saving a bunch of people in WWII), slept with Marylin Monroe, stopped Cuba from getting Nuclear Bombs, and set the national priority to getting to the moon. A huge aircraft carrier was named after him.

His Connections to those around him
Kennedy's family was Rich, and unfortunately Kennedy was keener on Tax cuts for the rich than modern Democrats are. Despite this Kennedy did many good things and was more progressive than others of his time.