Kennedy believed in religious liberty and the separation of church and state. He did not believe in the right of elected officials to impose their religious views on others. He was the first Catholic ever elected president, and he spent much of the 1960 campaign defending his religion and assuring voters he would not take orders from the Vatican.
The Confederacy was formed for the purpose of seceding from the Union because those states could not part with their rights to own slaves.
Every year, at every level of government and in every corner of our nation, elected officials are confronted with difficult decisions. The right answers aren't always obvious, and the effects aren't always clear.
Joe Lieberman is my least favorite politician of all time, excluding President Franklin Pierce (he just annoys me - not sure why).
All too often our leaders shrink from their responsibilities and choose to do what is politically expedient.
Throughout his presidency, my grandfather made it clear that he alone could fix nothing; that he alone had no answers. He had the courage to plainly admit America's shortcomings, to then lay out bold plans to address those problems and to ask his fellow Americans for help in solving them.
If the Kennedys had been barred from entering America after fleeing Ireland during the famine, my grandfather never would have been president.
