No, I don't think there is any similarity.

I think it is very much the same...

Young children, a president who is outside the WASP norm, excitement for something other than business as usual.

I am hopeful again!

I think it is similar, but even more celebratory, in that so many more people have reason to hope.

Not at all.
President Eisenhower was a respected and liked President. JFK was handsome, young and had a glamorous wife, a new baby and a cute little daughter.

The general feeling was a celebration of youth and glamour after 8 years of ...well, sort of like your grandparents in the WH. Eisenhower's leaving the WH was an official end of the WWII leadership era.

The country was prosperous and content.

The fact that JFK was Irish Catholic was no big deal. Catholics didn't celebrate his election as gaining something that was owed.

Yes, today's optimistic feeling is much like the feeling of hope (and change) that JFK bought to the country.

ML

What a great question!

For me it is very similar.
The feeling that we have a leader who is bold and energetic, willing to take on the world without being foolish or brash, a leader that that rest of the world could look up to - it all feels very similar.

There was great enthusiasm when JFK was elected, and his being Catholic WAS a big deal. I think the feelings about Obama are more intense and there is more excitement than JFK's time because we are facing such difficulties, and he offers the intelligence and wisdom to make things better. Obviously his race generates a lot of excitement too, but I'm just glad he's black AND smart too!

Interesting to read the different perspectives.

I admit, I didn't vote for the guy. I didn't like Sarah Palin much but felt John McCain was a more appropriate choice. Please no need for comments on that. I am a Republican, military daughter and granddaughter. I also admit, I got very caught up in what Obama had to say and found myself completely drawn in to his speeches. Still I voted the other way.

I have been telling my children, the ones who like to form their opinions based on mine, that I may have voted Republican, but this is OUR President now and I will support him.

So today I was very surprised to find myself tearing up for the majority of the inauguration and all of the President's speech. I feel the rush that everyone is feeling and I really do feel this feeling of hope / faith, excitement, and pride. That is why I posted the original question.

The other thing that is on my mind is this nagging fear and anxiety that is settling in. I asked about your memories of JFK and the similarities. Something that you didn't have at that time, that we do have today, is the knowledge of what can happen to our President and to our country.

My hope is that he is successful, and that he and his family are safe. I'm still struggling with my faith.

I'm happy that America is enthusiastic about President Obama. I hope he is able to clean up the mess that was given to him and get us back on track.

My only gripe is the media overkill....hopefully it will tapper off a little.

SamKaren
your resident DJ

I remember a lot of anti-Catholic sentiments during Kennedy's campaign.
And I remember the excitement when he was inaugurated. JFK was the first president to use TV, like BO is the first president to use the internet. With JFK, we got to watch the family on TV a lot, so felt like we knew them.
JoanMN/FL

I was pretty young but I well remember that Kennedy's being Catholic was a huge deal in my extended Catholic family. Catholics, who were mostly immigrants and often poor, had struggled for decades to achieve some measure of intellectual and political clout in a WASP society. Kennedy seemed to break through the barrier.

Don't mean to sound dumb, but what is a WASP society.

White
Anglo
Saxon
Protestant

Great question! And although I was also very young, I remember that his religion was a big deal! Not sure if perhaps some people remember history differently or if they are grasping at every opportunity to show their displeasure about the election results.

Like him or not, BO has excited this country about the possibilities new leadership brings.

JFK's religion may have been a really big thing in some parts of the country, but not in NJ and eastern PA. I was in high school, and my parents(one Catholic the other a Methodist) worked on JFK's campaign.
I lived in the town that was the home to one of the founders of the "religious right" and extremely anti-catholic. Even there, JFK's religion was more of a curiosity than a campaign issue.
People were more interested in their wealth and glamour than his religion.

JFK's main political strength was that he was not Nixon, who looked humorless and downright mercenary on black and white TV.

I can say that to my Irish Catholic, son of an Irish imigrant, and Philly native grandfather. The fact that Kennedy was Cathloic and Irish WAS a big deal.

Oh, to immigrants it might have been.

I can remember that many thought the Pope would have too much influence if JFK was elected.

ML (Catholic kid for JFK at the time)

monica--you seem to be a lone voice..... I wonder why you remember JFK's election differently than most.

Maybe I was a little older than others? And my family was involved in the campaign...and one of my uncles was a congressman?

I was too young to vote at the time, but I campaigned for JFK among my friends because I thought he was so cute, :) and Nixon looked like a dishonest used car salesman. ( not saying that all are dishonest. )

We lived in an apartment building that had four units. There was a lady who lived across the hall that from us that was concerned that the pope would be the actual ruler of the country and would use JFK as a mouth piece. Even that didn't matter to me, because he was cute! She was the only person I remember being concerned about him being catholic. Our neighborhood was very diverse. There were a lot of jewish, protestants and catholics. There was a large synagogue and a large catholic church and lots of smaller other churches. No matter what our race or religious belief, we all played together or hung around together after school and in the summer time. The catholic kids seemed just like the rest of us, so I just didn't see what the big deal was about having a catholic president, besides, did I mention that he was cute!!

A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend about the election and we started talking about JFK and how cute we thought he was. We looked up a picture of him on the internet and you know what? He really wasn't very cute after all!! LOL!!!

I was too young to remember much about JFK, except his assassination and how dreadfully SAD that was.

The similarities to me are the extreme confidence and charisma in each of them. Kennedy never got a chance to change the world. I pray God that Obama does.

Mscippy- interesting about the Pope. I don't remember hearing that (from my family). I can see how people would be concerned.

My grandparents actually had a gold painted plaster bust of JFK in their house. I bet that thing is still in a box in my moms garage.

John Jr. sure was cute!

I felt a much more sense of pride and reason to hope today than when JFK took office. There really wasn't any reason to feel the desperation then that we do today. We were in pretty good shape as a nation when JFK took over.

As for the election back then,I remember it more like Monica/Pa. There was a little dust-up about JFK being Catholic and rumors the pope would be making all the decisions, but being Catholic at the time, I knew that was pretty ridiculous. The press was a lot more forgiving back then and I don't remember them harping on it for the whole election.

No similarity in my opinion. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you...ask what you can do for your country." The gist of today was what government can do for you....you need government to run every aspect of your life.

I was not Catholic, immigrant, rural or too young to vote and JFK being Catholic was a very big deal. The energy, the charisma and youth of each of them are similar.

Amen to what you wrote Marilyn.

Linda

I think Monica and Marilyn have put it in a nutshell.

Kennedy was a decorated WWII veteran. He understood how we must fight to preserve our freedoms and sacrifice for it.Kennedy despite wanting change was a realist,not an idealist.

There was fear of the Pope's influence but the Catholics didn't vote en mass for him just because he was Catholic.

We also knew more about the Kennedy family,even back then, the good ,the bad and the ugly. We know very little about our current President.

I wish the new President well and I hope I am pleasantly surprised.

It was a big deal about his being Catholic and yes ppeople were concerned that the Pope would have too much influence.
Even concern that with a Catholic president you wouldn't be able to buy birth controls...now how ridiculous is that! But as excited as the country was to have this very young President and First Lady, it was nothing like today. I didn't vote for Barack Obama, but was thrilled to see the inaugeration of our first black president. It doesn't seem that long ago that I sat in church and listened to the minister read Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and remember too well the turmoil of the 60's....so today is indeed an unparalleled momentous occasion

Interesting comments here -

I don't remember JFK's election but I remember reading a lot about the Catholic connection.

I do see a similarity, especially being here in the DC area and feelilng the excitement. I think there is a groundswell because Obama is different - he is young, energetic and vibrant, but is also grounded. This is truly a new era. A lot of shoulders and backs were bent/broken during a very ugly time in America's history. But I really think the groudswell of the younger Americans, coming together for change, was the true catalyst. There are a lot of people from the Civil Rights era that could be qualified to be President, but I don't think it was race that influenced this as much as America wanting to rid the past. I've never seen a time, other than during the 60s with the Viet nam war and Civil Rights protests, that so many young people have spoken. They rallied so hard - to win and to vote for the change. Obama was definitely a contributor in that, through a generational connection. The fact that he is African-American (really), was just the icing on the cake. I think it was more a coincidence that he is Black. But it offered the country a chance to redeem from that ugly past. If JFK had lived, it would have been similar. But times have changed and since then, more people have been allowed into the voting process. More people have been allowed to participate and lead. So, with change, came change.

gneegirl - very nice comment.

The gist of today was what government can do for you....you need government to run every aspect of your life.

Hmmmm. I heard something more like: WE (you and I and all Americans) need to be part of the process...service to each other and to our country in one form or another...

I chalk it up to perspective. Just as some of us remember history differently, we can all listen to the same speech and hear something different than the person next to us. That's not a bad thing. Just very interesting.

I don't think it was the same. John K. Kennedy was very adamant on the issues at hand, also talking about change, but talked about what kind of changes he wanted to make, such as end of discrimination,and HOW he wanted to go about it, end of the cold war with Russia, to name a few. Family and social issues and HOW he planned to execute his beliefs.

President Obama has talked about change, but he has not laid down exactly what kind of changes he wants to make. Much unlike former President Kennedy did.

The times are so uncertain today! People are afraid of the economy and they are wanting any kind of change other than the situation they live in now. The terrorist and war are ever present on each heart and mind of the American people. President Obama has given a good talk with his "time for a change." But, what kind of change has he really spelled out? I think the American people are grasping at any change and hope....Time will tell and history will be made in the next four years, good or bad. I pray daily that President Obama and his beautiful wife and children will seek the Lord's guidance daily for our world, country and their daily lives. God Bless the United States of America!

It certainly wasn't the same, but I do see a similarity. The country, as someone pointed out, was in much better shape back then. We weren't in financial distress, but we were in civil rights hell. If the country needed to have reason to hope, it was in that area. Kennedy was ready to provide that hope.

Also, Eisenhower was a beloved patriarch, but Kennedy gave us our first taste of celebrity in politics. Jack and Jackie were young, rich, and (to some) fascinating. Their attractive appearance was part of it.

I wrote the following in my blog this morning:

I give equal marks to Jackie Kennedy and Michelle Obama for beauty, but Barack trumps Jack. And Malia trumps everybody.

PS: The Catholic issue was a very big deal in the largely Catholic New York neighborhood where I lived.

gneegirl -- Well said. Although it IS a big deal that Americans voted in their first black American President, his color isn't WHY we voted for him. My pride stems from the willingness of a majority of Americans to ignore color and vote for *this individual man*.

Nobody succeeds in politics without political backing. Obama is no different; he's out of Chicago's machine (and I hope he can surmount that). But Kennedy was out of his own *family's* machine, which continues to this day.

Kennedy's election was welcomed for his youth and energy, but Eisenhower was a respected and revered President, unlike Bush -- who has left office with the lowest approval rating of any President to date. Big difference!

I remember the fact that JFK was Catholic being a BIG deal. That is in the past now.

gneegirl, This is not meant to be controversial, but your comment it was more a coincidence that he is Black caught my attention. I believe Barack Obamas's black heritage has had a tremendous influence on him. It gave him insights and knowledge that no WASP could embrace and has spurred him on through his life time to where he is today.

No President can change everything. It is still up to US to make changes individually. We are where we are today because of the rash decisions made by so many, in so my different areas.

I know it is a comic strip, but I can never forget what Pogo said: "We have met the enemy, and he is US." Funny where we often find truisms, isn't it?

I voted for Obama; there was never a question in my mind about that. With everyone cooperating, Yes, we can.

Sue

If you truly want to know more about our new president, read his autobiographies. I'm in the middle of the first and can hardly wait to find an excuse to sit and read again. Before you condemn, do your homework. I think our country is incredibly lucky to have him right now!