Technomad mentions that JFK would like as not have kept going in Vietnam rather than pulling out, as has been suggested by some historians.
I agree. JFK, despite his numerous flaws, was actually pretty dedicated to opposing Communism.
He'd have stayed in Vietnam, and remember that it was still a popular war at this point.
Being a likeable president and fighting the good fight means he would have likely gotten more leeway than LBJ got.
I think, being the hot head he could be, he'd have also been a lot more aggressive about prosecuting the war once he got started.
It might not have ended any differently, but it might have lacked the micromanaging aspects that LBJ brought to the table.
Judging by JFK's performance as shadow controlling of The Bay of Pigs invasion, I think JFK would have stayed in Vietnam, even escalated it, until something went sideways in a big way. Then he would have caved. Caved bigly.
ReplyDeleteLike when the South Viets were up against the wall, fighting hard, calling for support, and the 'images' coming out of the fighting were not very pretty, suddenly he'd cave and pull out.
JFK didn't like communism, but he wasn't the best president at fighting commies. Truman? Eisenhower? They knew how to fight and stay in the fight.
LBJ wouldn't have made so much money with JFK in the white house. That, and from what I read in the past, JFK didn't like the way Viet Nam was unfolding, and voiced his concerns.
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