Jfk, Conservative

Liberals tend to treat John F. Kennedy as one of their own. Lyndon Johnson drew inspiration from him when pressing Congress for the Civil Rights Act, the New Frontier called for more money for schools and for medical care for older Americans, and Bill Clinton has said Kennedy drew him into public life. Supporters often argue that Kennedy would have pursued far more liberal policies if an assassin had not ended his life.

Ira Stoll questions that picture. He contends that Kennedy shared more ground with Ronald Reagan than with Johnson, pointing to two central commitments: opposing communism and cutting taxes. Stoll lays out Kennedy's tax reductions, his restraint on domestic spending, his military buildup, his pro-growth economic approach, and his support for free trade and a strong dollar. He also describes a foreign policy grounded in the belief that America had a God-given duty to defend freedom. By the standards of his own era and ours, Stoll argues, Kennedy was a conservative.

The book is aimed at readers across the political spectrum, from conservatives who want to claim Kennedy's legacy to liberals who see him as a hero of their movement. It has drawn wide debate for challenging a familiar reading of one of the most admired American presidents.