Analytical Essay #2

Kennedy Ellis

Mr. Comer

Honors Government

December 3, 2012

Overrated Presidents: John F. Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson and Barack Obama

            In his famous novel Star- Spangled Men, Nathan Miller constructs a list of America’s worst presidents for reasons such as inability to govern and pure deceit. However, Miller targets Thomas Jefferson and John F. Kennedy not for their inability to rule but for their overexposed popularities; their popularity as one of the founding fathers of America and America’s most dashing president are examined far more than their achievements as presidents. Likewise in today’s society, President Obama’s re-election for a second term is largely due to his stature of being America’s first black president instead of stemming from his achievements, or lack thereof, during his first presidency.

            Thomas Jefferson’s claim to fame as one of America’s best presidents is misguided. Americans are so quick to praise Jefferson for the Louisiana Purchase that they neglect to realize that his Embargo Act almost plunged America into her first depression. As the tensions between Great Britain and France reached a boiling point, America was dragged into the middle to claim a side. In an attempt to escape humiliation at the hands of Britain and France, Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807, which closed American ports to trade. The act “practically wrecked the nation’s economy and plunged it into its first depression while having absolutely no effect upon its targets”(Miller 243). Not only did Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana worsen the economic debt by nearly twenty percent but also his Embargo Act almost plummeted America into its first economic depression. While Jefferson is praised for achieving far more than he actually did, Kennedy enjoys a reputation of also being one of America’s best presidents.

            The superfluous praise given to John F Kennedy is not deserved. While most people know Kennedy as the charming socialite with inspiring speeches of integration and change, they do not know him as the cold warrior obsessed with expanding an already expanded military. While the achievements of Kennedy such as the Peace Corps and the space program that painted America as a scientifically developed nation adds to his repertoire, his lack of fortitude is what ultimately led to his failures as a president. Trying to project an image of toughness, Kennedy “welcomed confrontation” in foreign affairs; in fact, he sent in CIA-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and its Communist leader, Fidel Castro. However, on the day of the invasion, Kennedy got cold feet and withdrew the air support the CIA agents depended on. Kennedy not only did not kill the Communist leader but he also worsened the relationship with the Communists, causing them to build the Berlin Wall and install missiles in Cuba as a protection against a possible U.S. attack.

            Both Kennedy and Jefferson enjoy reputations that far exceed their actual achievements in office; Jefferson’s popularity as one of the Founding Fathers and Kennedy’s reputation as America’s sweetheart create a bias that makes America focus solely on why we love them instead of focusing on what they actually did. Like Kennedy and Jefferson, President Barack Obama enjoys a reputation far more than what his achievements show he deserves. In his first campaign in 2008, Obama was the voice of change; he spoke of equality among all races and he promised to lower the deficit left to us by President Bush. However, as his first-term came to an end, Obama did not keep his promises. The national deficit reached a record-high eighteen trillion and health care has been one of the hardest things for many people to obtain. Despite all of the failures in his first-term, Obama was still elected into a second- term. Although undeserving of a second term, Obama is re-elected largely because he is America’s black president. Jefferson and Kennedy are celebrated more so for their ideas and the direction they led America in after their presidencies; Obama on the other hand is celebrated for breaking through typical stereotypes for people of his race and changing the way minorities are viewed in today’s society.