A Time, The Man

JFK. Ronald Reagan. The two best presidents we have had since 1950. Why?

Well, for starters, Kennedy was a strong on defense and so was Reagan. Kennedy was a strong anti-communist and, again, so was Reagan. Kennedy cut taxes, and Reagan did, too.

But the biggest reason why they were both great was their ability to inspire. Each man quite honestly could turn a phrase and reach deep into your heart and mind. Both had great speechwriters, but they were words on paper. It was the delivery that got you each time.

Kennedy will forever be best known for his Inaugural Address, probably the best IA ever written and ever spoken. Reagan, the night of the Challenger disaster, our greatest tragedy in the space program to that time, understood the terrible event and consoled all of us that night with his soothing delivery and comforting words.

It can be said that there were other speeches given by other men and women that were as inspirational as those spoken by Kennedy and Reagan, but not as well-delivered with such heartfelt emotion.

Both men had a quick wit, charming grace and were great communicators with the people. Both were loved and respected by those they came into contact. Both enjoyed relatively high standing in the polls throughout their Presidencies.

Kennedy and Reagan each had an error in judgement where they made a terrible blunder. Kennedy's was the Bay of Pigs fiasco and Reagan's was Iran-Contra. Each man came to the American people, took responsibility for the mistake and was forgiven for the transgression. And each soared in the polls after that.

Both had to deal with a Soviet Union that seemed to be hell-bent on mutually  assured destruction and reached out instead to start or restart disarmament talks, Kennedy with his Peace Speech and Reagan with his meeting with Gorbachev in Geneva. Both stood up to the Soviet Union in Berlin, Kennedy with his statement, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" and Reagan with, "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Both of these Presidents would be appalled over what has become known to us over the last several months, and over the last ten years. Each man took the words of the Constitution literally and believed that our Founding Fathers understood the significance of an overbearing central government. Each President spoke often of smaller government and ultimately about protecting the rights of the people.

In either case, their party label, Democrat for JFK and Republican for Ronald Reagan, means nothing because the party they belonged to no longer exists. Each party has been transformed from what existed when they each were President. Instead, a better label for each man would be satisfied by the phrase, Great American.

Perhaps, someday we will again have a President the likes of a John F Kennedy or a Ronald W Reagan. In fact, I long for it. Do you?