November 22, 1963....where were you?

[big john]

I suppose I grew up in a different era, a different culture and I am naturally quite cynical, but I don't see how the death of a politician could cause so much grieving.

I just simply don't get it.

Politicians are no more (or less) than just another person.

(Sadly, my opinion of the character of all politicians actually make me lean toward thinking it wouldn't be such a great loss)

Given the shenanigans in the US Congress and Senate over the last few years, I wonder if there would be the same outpouring these days?

Oh and don't take this as a dig at your country's gubbernmint - The amateurs, sleazeballs, morons, handwringers, and dregs of society that populate the parliaments in Australia would make your skin crawl.

Our current Prime Minister, while negotiating with the minor party's for their support once told them "I would give you anything except my arse to be Prime Minister" so the bar is set pretty low here.

Compared to most other presidents, JFK enjoyed very high public approval ratings for the duration of his abbreviated presidency. He averaged 70.1 percent approval, the highest of any post-World War II president. By comparison, the average for all presidents between 1938 and 2012 is 54 percent.

[Hockey Mon]

I suppose I grew up in a different era, a different culture and I am naturally quite cynical, but I don't see how the death of a politician could cause so much grieving.

I just simply don't get it.

Politicians are no more (or less) than just another person.

(Sadly, my opinion of the character of all politicians actually make me lean toward thinking it wouldn't be such a great loss)

Given the shenanigans in the US Congress and Senate over the last few years, I wonder if there would be the same outpouring these days?

Oh and don't take this as a dig at your country's gubbernmint - The amateurs, sleazeballs, morons, handwringers, and dregs of society that populate the parliaments in Australia would make your skin crawl.

Our current Prime Minister, while negotiating with the minor party's for their support once told them "I would give you anything except my arse to be Prime Minister" so the bar is set pretty low here.

Compared to most other presidents, JFK enjoyed very high public approval ratings for the duration of his abbreviated presidency. He averaged 70.1 percent approval, the highest of any post-World War II president. By comparison, the average for all presidents between 1938 and 2012 is 54 percent.

I wasn't alive yet but from what I remember from history class, and listening to folks here, it truly was a different era and a different time. And he was a different type of president than the past several ones. He was young (under 50), which possibly translated into being full of energy. He talked eloquently and looked good on TV. He did have some mistakes along the way but people liked him.
Congress/the Presidency was not always like it is now. I mean, during the 80's, you may not have liked the party in power but there was respect for those elected. That seems to be missing these days.

Keep the stories coming, they are fascinating to me.

[Tiki Torches]

I'd say that if the President of the United States were to be assassinated, no matter the era or President, that it's a pretty big deal.

[bodypainter]

I was on the third floor of Main Street School,facing west.I had seen PT109 and had built the Plastic model of JFK's gun boat.He was a hero taken from us unjustly.My class took the news personally.When Oswald was gunned down,I felt a rush of vengeful emotion.

[sistergoldenhair]

I suppose I grew up in a different era, a different culture and I am naturally quite cynical, but I don't see how the death of a politician could cause so much grieving.

I just simply don't get it.

Politicians are no more (or less) than just another person.

(Sadly, my opinion of the character of all politicians actually make me lean toward thinking it wouldn't be such a great loss)

Given the shenanigans in the US Congress and Senate over the last few years, I wonder if there would be the same outpouring these days?

Oh and don't take this as a dig at your country's gubbernmint - The amateurs, sleazeballs, morons, handwringers, and dregs of society that populate the parliaments in Australia would make your skin crawl.

Our current Prime Minister, while negotiating with the minor party's for their support once told them "I would give you anything except my arse to be Prime Minister" so the bar is set pretty low here.

It was not just the death of a president, it was the murder of a president. So to a people who feel very safe, suddenly we don't feel so safe. We are reminded of our ultimate vulnerability. I felt the same way on 9/11, probably much more intensely ... that's just my take on things ...

[zippy]

I suppose I grew up in a different era, a different culture and I am naturally quite cynical, but I don't see how the death of a politician could cause so much grieving.

I just simply don't get it.

Politicians are no more (or less) than just another person.

(Sadly, my opinion of the character of all politicians actually make me lean toward thinking it wouldn't be such a great loss)

Given the shenanigans in the US Congress and Senate over the last few years, I wonder if there would be the same outpouring these days?

Oh and don't take this as a dig at your country's gubbernmint - The amateurs, sleazeballs, morons, handwringers, and dregs of society that populate the parliaments in Australia would make your skin crawl.

Our current Prime Minister, while negotiating with the minor party's for their support once told them "I would give you anything except my arse to be Prime Minister" so the bar is set pretty low here.

plz refer to video link (Tavis Smiley on PBS) I think this historian sums it up

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/int ... show=19719

I was too young to remember any details. Watched the funeral on tv, I do remember that. Later on my parents piled us kids into the station wagon (remember those?) and toured the burial site, I vaguely remember that also. I was probably more concerned with homework and playing with my friends.

[Bicycle Bill]

I suppose I grew up in a different era, a different culture and I am naturally quite cynical, but I don't see how the death of a politician could cause so much grieving.

I just simply don't get it.

Politicians are no more (or less) than just another person.

That's true enough, but this was 50 years ago.  People were still elected by ballots, not bullets.  And the amount of rancor now being displayed to politicians was nowhere near as prevalent as it is now.

And as others have noted, Kennedy wasn't "just another politician".  JFK was a decorated war veteran (I suppose the word "hero" might also apply in this case), he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, he was young, he was the first (and so far, only) Roman Catholic to be elected as President, he had an attractive wife and a young family — daughter Caroline (who incidentally shares her date of birth with me) was only five days away from her 6th birthday at the time of the assassination, and son John Jr. was three days away from his 3rd, and they made the White House and the office of the Presidency seem more approachable.  Even though he was the scion of a wealthy and politically-connected family, he was still able to project the image of an ordinary man who was not above giving his children piggy-back rides or spoiling them rotten (for example, Caroline's pony), or spending a fall afternoon with the rest of the relatives playing touch football.
(American football, that is; I've seen your game of footy and it only convinces me that you Aussies are completely gone round the bend!  It took me three matches before I realized they were giving the score in goals and behinds rather than dead and injured.)

But he was still a leader in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Harry Truman.  He was a powerful and persuasive speaker, but was not above wielding a big stick if it came to that.  He was coming off of a 'win' over the Cuban crisis where he had faced off against Khrushchev and the Russians when they tried to establish missile launch sites in Cuba and forced them to back down and remove them rather than risk nuclear war, he had challenged America to respond to the Russians' exploration of space to the point that we had already launched men into space for multiple orbits around the earth and successfully recovered them and were well on the path that would eventually lead to the moon, he was a strong advocate for civil rights for blacks and other minorities, and he had established/promoted other programs such as the Alliance for Progress, VISTA, and the Peace Corps.

To put it another way, America was on a roll and Kennedy was perceived to be the reason.  Despite some of his peccadilloes, both alleged and verified, he seemed to have a long and noteworthy presidency and subsequent future as an elder statesman ahead of him and the public was complacent that all was right with America and, by extension, the world.  To have him taken from us in such a manner, by one crackpot with a $20.00 mail-order rifle, was a traumatic shock to the nation.

So yeah, it *WAS* a big thing.  The fact that the 9/11 attacks were the only thing significant enough to rival it in fifty years is even more of an indication of just how world-changing the events of 22 November 1963 actually were.

-"BB"-

[AdamBomb8]

I was six months old

[Rabbitz]

Thanks Bill,

It was clearly a "big thing". I just can't connect the dots between "good politician" and people being upset enough to cry.

I fear it is the fact that while we are forced to vote in Australia, most do not trust anyone in politics and therefore feel that we must try and pick the lesser of two evils.

I heard it expressed that "one will screw you, the other will smile while screwing you".

Without wishing ill to happen, I wonder if there would be the same spontaneous grieving here or in the US these days?

[SeattleParrotHead]

I was in my 8th grade U.S. History class. Our teacher, Miss Lonski, was called out into the hall and then came back in crying and said "boys and girls, the president has just been killed."

[Dino69]

This occured 6 years before I was born but I've heard it said many times by relatives that when the initial headlines hit Australia the first question asked was "why would anyone shoot Graham Kennedy?" (He was a very popular Australian entertainer). I guess this initial reaction points to how obsurd it was that anyone could shoot a president.

As a passionate "Sinatraphile" I have collected over the last 20 years three copies of the 1960 Presidential campaign song "High hopes (with Jack Kennedy)" sung by Frank Sinatra.

[jayparrot46]

i was about 3 year old do not remenber amything