Comparisons to JFK were ubiquitous when Obama ran in 2008. Now that his term is over, how do the two stack up?
JFK v. Obama
Trailblazer Catholic African-American
Great Speaker Yes Yes
Russian Foe Khrushchev Putin
Foreign Failure Bay of Pigs Syria
Foreign Success Test Ban Treaty Iran Deal
Crisis Cuban Missiles Great Recession
Civil Rights Issue Segregation Police Tactics
Endless War Vietnam Afghanistan
And the winner is . . . Obama. While we don’t know how much of his legacy will survive Trump, he will always be the guy who steered us out of the Great Recession. JFK’s principal legacy, to be blunt, is the Camelot myth.