What would the US be like today if John Kennedy had served 2 terms as president?

in much worse shape.

Kennedy was an irresponsible and reckless hawk. He campaigned claiming there was a missile gap - which was entirely untrue. To make good his campaign he had to have a massive nuclear buildup which led to the arms race. It also led directly the Cuban Missile Crisis since the Soviets were desparate to catch up in the arms race.

Kennedy ignored his military advisors and decided to intervene in Vietnam. The U.S. involvement there was a direct result of his arrogance and incompetence (very similar to Iraq today).

Kennedy gave lots of idealistic speeches but was bad at getting things through the legislature. He never would have gotten the voting rights act passed and it is very unlikely he would have gotten the space program passed.

Johnson was a shrewd, tough politician who used the legacy of Kennedy to push through dozens of major reform bills, the space program and other Kennedy projects.

Kennedy is remembered fondly because he gave good speeches and died young. His administration was essentially a disaster. The high point is the Cuban Missile Crisis which he provoked and then managed to avoid a nuclear war with only days or hours to spare.

I find it amusing that JFK is so idealized most folks seem to think he would have 'stopped' the Vietnam war. The truth is, the war was already escalating under his administration. He also brought us to the brink of a nuclear exchange with the Soviets. Make no mistake, John Kennedy was a hawk.

However, the Soviets were very afraid of him. They believed he had the nerve to push the button, and very likely he did have that nerve. This in itself is a form of deterrent. So as far as the conduct of the Cold war goes, I think little would have changed.

Where I think there would have been a huge change, is in the Space program. Kennedy was very gung-ho on space exploration and largely responsible for the Apollo missions. If he had served two terms, I think we would have cities on the Moon and Mars now. Just imagine walking out into your backyard at night and seeing the lights of cities on the Moon.

I am not American nor am was a teenager during the sixties I was just a kid then. But from what I could see Kennedy would have plunged the United States into a war with Vietnam those he was a man of peace. He still was sending troops into Vietnam as observes, so eventually he would have committed all of the US military might into that war. Otherwise, the states would have been the same as it was under Johnson and Nixon. Drugs in the schools, the hippie movement on the rise and Eastern Religion making a head way into the American culture.Vietnam

Kennedy used limited military action to contain the spread of communism. Determined to stand firm against the spread of communism, Kennedy's policy included political, economic, and military support for the unstable South Vietnamese government, which included sending 18,000 military advisors and U.S. Special Forces to the area. Kennedy also agreed to the use of napalm, defoliants, free-fire zones and jet planes. U.S. involvement in the area continually escalated until regular U.S. forces were directly fighting the Vietnam War in the next administration. The Kennedy Administration increased military support, but it was not working. By July 1963 Kennedy faced a crisis in Vietnam. The Administration's response was to assist in the coup d'état of the President of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem (LeFeber, "America, Russia and the Cold War", p. 233). In 1963, South Vietnamese generals overthrew the Diem government, by assassinating Diem. Kennedy sanctioned Diem's overthrow. One reason for the support was a fear that Diem might negotiate a neutralist coalition government which included Communists, as had occurred in Laos in 1962. Dean Rusk, Secretary of State, remarked "This kind of neutralism...is tantamount to surrender."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy#Vietn...

It takes so much for me to understand why so many people idolized JFK, when in truth I would sooner put him on a list of our Country's worst Presidents than its best.

I believe there was a possibility that had he not died he would have lost re-election. His domestic policy was weak, his international policy was sketchy at best, and at every step his personal problems could have brought the whole front crashing down. As to thinking he might have prevented US entry into Vietnam--HE was the one who first sent "advisors" over there. As for leaving the US LBJ as President, aside from his many mistakes in Vietnam, his domestic initiatives weren't all bad (head start, the school lunch program, the beautification project, etc.).

Bobby would have been elected in '68 and '72. The US gets its first Black VP with Martin Luther King on the '72 ticket

King wins the presidency in '76 (!)

Reagan wins in '80, and the rest of the succession remains as is.

Nixon would never have been elected, hence no Watergate scandal;

The Civil Rights movement would have moved along a little faster and surer;

The ghetto riots of the mid '60's may never have happened, or would have been much less intense;

He would have stopped the escalation in Vietnam;

He would have continued to mobilize and motivate America's youth;

The Cold War? Hard to tell.

I think Americans would have forgiven him his dalliances with Marilyn Monroe.

Not much difference. Maybe a few more blow jobs in the oval office. The only good Kennedy was Robert. Now I think he might of made a difference.

Nobody knows. I know the world and the country would be better off if this president had not served any terms!

I’ll throw this out there.

Nixon would never have been president and, therefore, we would not have had open relations with China until much later.

OMG I dont even want to go there. World War 3 would have taken place with todays world a nuclear waste land.

That is a wonderful questions with endless possibilities