Kennedy, John Fitzgerald

Kennedy's wit and charm earned him considerable popularity at home and abroad. The glamour, romance, and charisma of the “Camelot” presidency, especially when compared with later presidencies overshadowed by the Vietnam War and, later, the Watergate scandal, seemed to represent a time of hope and idealism. However, the myth of Camelot, burnished by his supporters and family, successfully hid Kennedy’s ill-health and sexual peccadilloes among other flaws in his personality. Although his achievements domestically were limited by a recalcitrant Congress and a politically realistic cautiousness, many of his policies were carried through by his successor, such as in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His achievements in foreign affairs, after early failures, were long lasting and effectively reduced the temperature of the Cold War. In reality, many of his greatest achievements—from the desegregation of Southern universities, to the establishment of the programme to send a man to the Moon—were as a result of executive action that bypassed constitutional checks and balances. His willing establishment of this assertive executive (the triumph of The Imperial Presidency as Arthur M. Schlesinger described it in his 1973 book) would have a lasting effect upon the powers, and expectations, of future American presidents.