JOHN F. KENNEDY RETURNS
Historians often speculate on different, better alternative histories that would have taken place if John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated. Would we have avoided Vietnam, avoided LBJ's unmanageably expensive war on poverty, avoided the angry confrontation of a Cold War presidency and a long-haired counter-culture? In a way, we're getting a chance to see.

George W. Bush, like Kennedy, is the scion of a wealthy political family who was brought to the presidency largely by his father. He came to power (like Kennedy) in a disputed and very close election, against a candidate who was personally unappealing. (Kennedy probably stole the election, unlike Bush; Nixon, unlike the Democrats, refused to ask for a recount.) Once in office, Bush (like Kennedy) cut taxes across the board and increased spending; they were both fans of deficit spending and big government. Bush (like Kennedy) was a hawk in foreign affairs, in contrast with a predecessor who was content to have a more placid international scene (Clinton, Eisenhower respectively). Bush had his 9/11, Kennedy his Cuban missile crisis; in each case, strong leadership in a time of crisis gave the president soaring personal ratings with the American public. Bush and Kennedy were enthusiasts for the space race. Both spoke of America's defense of freedom in heroic tones. Both made the first steps to changing their party's attitude towards race relations. Kennedy was a fierce anti-Communist. "Compassionate conservative" would be a pretty good description of him.

A few differences. Kennedy was constantly unfaithful to his wife, seducing starlets, sleeping with prostitutes, etc.; as far as I know, Bush is not. Bush was also a bit more successful in foreign affairs, spectacularly winning two wars, whereas Kennedy bungled the Bay of Pigs invasion and came out of the Cuban missile crisis with America weakened (having promised not to topple the emerging monster, Castro, as well as withdrawing missiles from Turkey.) Kennedy, on the other hand, was better liked abroad-- or was he? After all, half the world in those days was under Marxist rule (China and Russia) or socialist-left rule (India) and automatically disliked America. Bush has improved relations with both Russia and China. As for the intelligentsia, don't forget that many of them were committed to Marxism, too, in Kennedy's time. Let's just say that Kennedy was more popular in certain quarters, e.g. Europe. But maybe that is more evidence of Europe's great changes than of a difference between Bush and Kennedy.

Anyway, imagine if Bush had been assassinated in, say, early 2003, by a lone Islamist gunman and a citizen of Iran. To much of the country, he would become a martyr. The more angry execration of Bush on the left would have to die down; instead, his supporters would search his speeches for pearls of wisdom to guide the party. Cheney would feel a much weaker mandate, so he would try to do what Bush would have done; also, the nation would be in a vengeful mood. Government spending would continue its upward tack, and fewer would object. Abroad, we would push the war on terror harder. We would invade Iran or Syria. At home, the recruiting drive for the army would accelerate. Meanwhile, an angry counter-culture would develop back home...

Fortunately, Bush is still around, and since mid-2003 he is trying to preserve the idealistic moves of the first two years of office, his foreign policy successes, his commitment to freedom, while trying to reverse some of its more unsustainable aspects. By turning increasingly to the UN, by dealing with North Korea diplomatically and letting China lead the effort, by suddenly showing determination to bring the deficit under control, Bush has, for the past year, been revising the policy direction of his administration, without abandoning the central plank, a courageous commitment to the expansion of freedom. America will not lose its way in the 2000s the way it did in the 1960s.

WHAT IS A NEOCON?
For those of you who want to get a glimpse of the neocon vision, this essay by Paul Johnson is a great read. I was inspired. It makes me excited to be a part of the future of this world.