Historian Robert Dallek, that is:
"Jack and Bobby, they were martyrs, and martyrs' reputations live on," says Dallek, author of "An Unfinished Life," a biography of John Kennedy. "And so it's almost as if their achievements have become second to their martyrdom."
Yep. Had it not been for the Kennedy brothers being cut down in the prime of their lives and careers, that Kennedy mystique might not have been nearly as potent as it became to the American people, and Teddy's role as the runt of the litter would have been much more obvious as his brothers' achievements were seen more on their own merits as opposed to being seen through the light of their respective "martyrdoms." I can't speak so much for Bobby's achievements, but as for JFK, everyone knows about the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis -- and who knows what would have happened had they not been cut down. For all anyone knows, at least we might not have gotten the Nazi-inspired Gun Control Act of 1968, which would have only been a good thing....
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