Kennedy was far more liberal, and far more adventurous in accepting the presidency, which he won by a very slim whisker in Chicago, November, 1960.
Johnson was the "old pro"- a Southerner, moderate, nearly conservative, who came onto the ticket as an expediency. The two men did not like one another.
Due to the "hero" aspect, following JFK's assassination, Johnson was forced to continue the programs and policies which he endorsed only half-heartedly while JFK was alive.
JFK's leadership style was that of an energetic young man, and his assistants were all far younger than in any previous administration. It was JFK's youth that brought previously alienated young people back into the voting booth, and stormed the gates to join the Peace Corps
Johnson's leadership style was paternal, outwardly, and arm-twisting out of the view of the ordinary American.
Both men influenced minorities- the New Frontier melded into the Great Society. Civil Rights Acts were passed.
The shadow lingering over both was the Viet Nam conflict. JFK supposedly was trying to get out of Viet Nam, Johnson wanted to win at all costs.
JFK will be long remembered and adored, while Johnson will be linked with Viet Nam and his decision not to run again.
The Greater part of the 1960s was taken up with American Democratic leadership that was truly poles apart. John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic to become president was seen as a left-wing liberal (a somewhat over-generalized view) while his successor, who had the sad task of replacing a fallen "hero" was a far more political and conservative Southern breed, who was literally forced to continue the policies of JFK, even when privately he was truly half-hearted about it.
It was a time where the Office of the President was changing.
In the sixties, the office of the Presidency, which John F. Kennedy held, was above all an intellectual exercisea.It would require greater courage and exertion...