JFK was not a particularly good Representative or Senator. (His father had to get one of the political leaders to set up a phony committee for JFK to head.)
But he was young, good looking and well spoken. And there was money to finance his Presidential campaign.
Old Joe Kennedy made a deal with the Mob using Frank SInatra as conduit to see that JFK miraculously won the strongly protestant West Virginia primary. Don't believe it? Sinatra's daughter has confirmed this.
Not hard to believe since the old man had plenty of contacts with the mob from his rum running days.
But Old Joe's stroke put him out of action and whatever influence he might have exerted to pave the way was lost.
[quote] The Cuban Missile Crisis would have happened whoever was President.
Wrong.
Kennedy bungled the Vienna Summit with Nikita Khrushchev and NK pegged him as a weakling.
That's why he put the missiles in Cuba.
Want to thank someone for not having nukes used with the Missile Crisis, thank Nikita Khrushchev.
As for JFK's team - yes smart guys. Many of whom, including McNamara, stayed on with LBJ. One of LBJ's big mistakes. Because they were supposed to be so smart, LBJ followed their advice (again McNamara, for example) about Vietnam. And most people know how the advice from those "smart" men worked out.
See the excellent "Path to War" from 2002 with a splendid cast, using extensive historical research which is an excellent depiction of the ghastly steps suggested and followed dealing with Vietnam.
JFK was not a very good President.
His death was awful. Terrible for his wife, children, family and the nation. But it served to burnish his memory way beyond what it should have been.
BTW, I remember reading that both Eisenhower and Truman thought the JFK funeral was way, way over the top and inappropriate.
And if you really want to see an abuse of power, read up on the story of Ted and his team and they way they "handled" the Chappaquiddick Incident.
I speak as someone who grew up believing the whole myth. But I have put away childish things.
And I hate being lied to.