As November draws closer, you’ll see more stories about the upcoming 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. A piece from New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson caught our eye this week.
“Kennedy remains all but impossible to pin down,” she wrote. “One reason is that his martyrdom — for a generation of Americans still the most traumatic public event of their lives, 9/11 notwithstanding — has obscured much about the man and his accomplishments. Was Kennedy a great president, as many think? Or was he a reckless and charming lightweight or, worse still, the first of our celebrities-in-chief? To what extent do his numerous personal failings … overshadow or undermine his policy achievements?”
Well put — and the very questions we had when our Ideas & Voices team convened a panel of local historians, politicians and other experts to discuss Kennedy’s legacy. Their observations will run on Sunday’s page as our latest roundtable discussion. Be sure to check it out.
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