a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  2828 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: We Choose The Moon

Here is where we should talk about what a 'leader' is. When this speech was made, the USA had a grand total of FOUR manned space flights. Two of them were sub-orbital. When the call to go to the moon was made, on May 25, 1961, one American had gone into space, and that flight was barely sub-orbital. We did not even have the rocket ready to send the Mercury capsule into orbit yet! The Russians were making a mockery of our technology, our industry and our way of life. And here comes a young US president to, as my dad puts it, bitch-slap the US... to remind us that we are used to fighting against the odds, to man up, to fight, to win.

The Kennedy worship, IMO is overdone; he was President for only three years after all. If he had not died in Dallas, who knows what would have happened.

But that word, 'leadership.' Can anyone here name anyone in US politics today who could make that speech? Wyden, maybe but he's small potatoes and I doubt many not here will even know who he is. Feingold, maybe? Anyone national? Hell, anyone local? The only good thing about the two walking garbage fires we have this go-round is that no matter who wins, they will only serve one term. (both will be in their mid 70's in 2020.)