HON 338 – Director's Symposium
             There have been an ever-growing number of Presidents to call the White House their home and claim the highest leadership position in the free world. Each one has left his mark on history, though it seems as though those marks have varied a large amount in size of impact on history and the minds of those people that lived during that era. Some former presidents merely have their name in history books; some have humorous stories, such as President Taft getting stuck in the Whitehouse bathtub. However others have gotten themselves into quite a few predicaments, and an even smaller number showed great adeptness at getting out of these predicaments. This leads us to John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Why do so many Americans still hold him high on a pedestal? How did he make such a mark on history and not even have the opportunity to complete one full term in office? He had certain abilities that set him apart from most, but not all. He was surely a handsome and charismatic man, though there were surely others better than him. What set him apart was that he strove for the highest leadership position made to man, and he didn't want to take same path that had been paved by so many before him. No, he had a goal, and aimed to take any shortcuts necessary to reach the Presidency as fast as possible. Once there he was in the limelight, now everyone could see his charm and leadership abilities, and he put his mark in everyone's heart.
             Kennedy's political campaign was not as easy as one might have thought. Sure he was raised in an extremely wealthy family that seemed to breed a truly magnetic personality into all that came from those bloodlines. But it turns out that his wealthy upbringing was one of his several large obstacles to overcome in the few short years leading up to the election. Kennedy also had to overcome the image of youth and inexperience. He was after all the first...