The 2020 primaries will be a test of whether — after 60 years, after the fraying of the Kennedy family dynasty, and after the emergence of the MeToo movement — the character of a Kennedyesque charismatic loner still stirs the Democratic imagination
For the past six decades, Democrats have been mesmerized by the Kennedy style, like adult children searching for the forever-young father who left them before his time. The pressure for candidates to fit the Kennedy mold—in looks, style and political bearing—became so oppressive that the writer Garry Wills coined a term for it: “The Kennedy imprisonment.”
One would assume that, if the Kennedy political recipe was losing its flavor in 1981, when Wills conjured the term “the Kennedy imprisonment,” it must surely be rancid by now. But even if some of the outward trappings of the Kennedy image—the high fashion, the self-satisfied smile—have fallen out of vogue, the Kennedy approach to politics and, especially, to winning a presidential election as a Democrat, are as relevant in 2020 as they were in 1960.
Three years later, Kennedy’s assassination produced an outpouring of sympathy so great that it carried Johnson to a record-breaking election victory in 1964. Thereafter, every Democrat who has been elected president has followed the JFK road map. Kerry’s campaign serves best, perhaps, as an object lesson in what parts of the Kennedy legacy—the looks, the accent, the association with actual Kennedy relatives—have diminished in significance over time, and which remain evergreen: youth, vigor, a sense of high purpose.
The #MeToo movement, however, has forced a reconsideration of the “Mad Men” era of the Kennedy presidency, of the womanizing associated with JFK and some of the men of his administration. Kennedy’s personal image is now tarnished. But there are signs that Kennedy-style presidential politics can survive the hit.
Pete Buttigieg has followed a clear Kennedy path: attending Harvard, studying in England, serving in the military, and preaching generational change and “a fresh start.” Meanwhile, he has a natural means of erasing the predatory womanizing from the JFK image: He’s gay.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
Why Pete Buttigieg's $7 million cash haul is even more impressive than it seemsIf you told Pete Buttigieg on January 1 that by the end of March his presidential campaign would have raised $7 million, he likely would have laughed. And that would have been the appropriate reaction, given how few people even knew the name of the mayor of South Bend, Indiana -- much less that he was one of the many Democrats running for president in 2020.
Weiterlesen »
Why Pete Buttigieg says he stopped using ‘all lives matter’The Democratic presidential candidate used the contentious phrase in a 2015 speech.
Weiterlesen »
Buttigieg announces massive Q1 fundraising haul"This is just a preliminary analysis, but our team’s initial report shows we raised over $7 million dollars in Q1 of this year," Buttigieg wrote on Twitter.
Weiterlesen »
Democratic presidential longshot Pete Buttigieg announces $7 million fundraising haulThe fundraising total does not list the number of donors, and a complete public accounting is due April 15.
Weiterlesen »
Pete Buttigieg says his team raised more than $7 million in first quarter2020 Democratic contender Pete Buttigieg has raised over $7 million in the first quarter of the year, the South Bend, Indiana, mayor announced on Twitter Monday morning.
Weiterlesen »
Buttigieg dashes to catch up with his newfound famePete Buttigieg is having a moment. His task now is to convert it into a full-fledged campaign
Weiterlesen »
Buttigieg says he raised $7 million during the first quarter for his White House bidThe total announced by the mayor of South Bend, Ind., is likely to give a boost to his candidacy in a crowded Democratic field.
Weiterlesen »
Buttigieg raised over $7 million for 2020 campaign"This is just a preliminary analysis, but our team’s initial report shows we raised over $7 million dollars in Q1 of this year," Buttigieg wrote on Twitter.
Weiterlesen »