Despite serving only 1,000 days in office and dealing with numerous medical conditions throughout his term, President John F. Kennedy is still considered to be one of America’s greatest presidents, Boston University professor Robert Dallek said last night at Boston University’s annual Merle Goldman Lecture in the College of Arts and Sciences.
In his lecture, ‘JFK: A Reappraisal,’ Dallek discussed why Kennedy is still such a draw to both historians and the general public, despite the many recent revelations about his life.
Kennedy suffered from many medical ailments, though this was largely covered up by the government and the press, Dallek said. Dallek recently released a book about Kennedy’s medical problems, after being allowed access to his medical files by Kennedy’s family.
‘He had such a severe back problem that he couldn’t climb the stairs to get on Air Force One,’ Dallek said. ‘After the reporters and photographers left, he walked sideways to get into the plane.’
Along with the chronic back pain, Kennedy suffered from Addison’s disease, which is a failure of the adrenal gland, spastic colitis, an intestinal infection and a venereal disease.
‘He was on a lot of medications for these problems, and at stressful times such as before press conferences, speeches and during the Cuban Missile Crisis, his doses were increased to ease his situation,’ Dallek said.
Despite all these medications, Dallek said he found no evidence of their impact on Kennedy’s conduct while in office.
‘He was as lucid and thoughtful as any president could have been,’ Dallek said.
After Kennedy’s death, many of his medical records were destroyed, further concealing his problems. But when news leaked and the public finally learned of Kennedy’s ailments, they considered him to be ‘extraordinarily courageous,’ Dallek said.
It is surprising that Kennedy is considered one of the greatest American presidents, though he has ‘no domestic record to speak of,’ Dallek said.
‘On the table, he had the Civil Rights Bill, a plan for Medicare and Medicaid, the ‘War on Poverty’ and plans for Housing and Urban Development and the Transportation Department,’ Dallek said. ‘Yet none of these were ever passed while he was in office.’
Kennedy was always skeptical of the military, which goes back to his years in the Navy, Dallek said. Kennedy wrote letters detailing the mistakes made by officers who he described as often having their ‘brains up their behinds,’ Dallek said.
But though Kennedy may not have gotten a lot accomplished in his short term, he had his head in the right place morally, Dallek said.
‘In Jan. 1963, Kennedy asked for a full review of the issue in Vietnam, including a plan on how to get out of there,’ Dallek said.
Had Kennedy not been assassinated, Dallek said the mess in Vietnam probably would not have gotten as out of control as it did.
But Kennedy’s main assets were his physical traits.
‘Why do we like him?’ Dallek asked. ‘He’s enchanting, attractive and has considerable attributes.’
Dallek said Kennedy’s appeal came from his good looks, enchanting personality and appeal on television.
‘Kennedy was the first president to hold news conferences, and even today, Kennedy’s assassination and funeral are played on TV,’ Dallek said.
Christina Kopp, one of Dallek’s former research assistants, attended the lecture because she said Dallek was ‘fun to listen to.’
BU history professor Bruce Schulman, a friend of Dallek’s from when they both taught at UCLA, said he considers Dallek, who teaches students in BU’s Washington, D.C. programs, a great historian.
‘I wouldn’t miss a chance to hear this pre-eminent historian speak,’ Schulman said.
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