CHAPTER ONE
A New Appreciation of John Kennedy
We are creating a culture that is not conducive to good policy or good politics.—President Barack Obama.
A half-century ago, on a cool November evening, an enormous jet landed at an airport near Washington, D.C., and taxied into the harsh glare of klieg lights. A truck with a hydraulic cargo lift mounted on the back sped across the tarmac to an open door at the rear of the plane. In the doorway, several men in dark suits struggled with the weight of an ornate wooden coffin as they carried it onto the lift and set it down at their feet.
Almost immediately, someone threw a switch and the lift began to move down to the tarmac. But after it had gone just a few feet, it stopped and would go no farther, forcing the men in suits to jump down and remove the coffin by hand. They moved quickly, almost frantically, knowing that each moment of delay was an eternity for Jacqueline Kennedy, the bewildered young woman who stood at the edge of the lift, her eyes locked on the coffin.
All His Bright Light Gone: The Death of John F. Kennedy and The Decline of America Description:
Historians say John Kennedy did not have time to reach his full potential. This is shortsighted. If the presidents who followed Kennedy had continued his style of government, we would not have a gridlocked political system today, and a man like Donald Trump would never have become popular.
