Family Influence on Kennedy and Clinton
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Politicians are fond of allusion: stature by self-proclaimed association with the "great." The 1992 presidential elections found Republican Party candidate, President George Bush, throwing the mantle of Harry Truman around his shoulders in an attempt to draw parallels between his own struggling campaign and that of the classic "underdog" sitting president of 1948. Comparison with the presidential election of 1960 might have been more appropriate, however, at least for the Democratic Party candidate, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (Schlesinger 53-54). From the safe position of post-election perspective, it is easy to see where the careers, campaigns, even personal lives of the successful presidents-elect, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, follow a similar pattern of approach to the high-stakes game of national politics. This is not a coincidence: a close look at Bill Clinton's political style reveals a studied appreciation of John Kennedy the man - and politician.This is not to deny elements beyond both men's control - formulative childhoods that influenced their approach to the body politic - but it is precisely in this area where the future actions of each man came to be determined. The specific influence on both Clinton and Kennedy appears to be that of the family unit figure - or lack of one. John Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, was a formidable figure. Successful, strong-willed, intelligence combined with a sensitivity to social needs that did not mitigate
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political career as early as his student days at Harvard. The aforementioned thesis, Why England Slept, was one such example; Kennedy followed it up with public calls for rearmament prior to America's entry into the Second World War - going so far as to attempt to enlist in the military, despite being physically unqualified for service. Indeed, John Kennedy's post-Pearl Harbor acceptance by the Navy was as much a tribute to his political "pull" as it was to the country's need for manpower. His subsequent heroics in the Pacific war theater, while genuine, were most certainly exploited as accomplishments beyond their original scope. John Kennedy was not adverse to thinking ahead about his own career.
That said, both Clinton and Kennedy can also be compared in the overlapping of their public and private married lives. Both men wed women of strong personality, given the adjustments of different eras. Hilary Clinton has been acknowledged as the President-elect's most intimate political adviser: "You get Bill, you get me" was a widely-debated impression made by the candidate's wife. A sharp contrast to the "America's Grandmom," non-political persona of Barbara Bush, the President's wife. Although the subject of much concern
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Approximate Word count = 2077
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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