Biden is no JFK on taxes. Many Democrats are fine with that.

September 8, 2020

Photo: Abbie Rowe/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

These are tough times for Camelot. The Kennedy dynasty’s patriarch, Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, used to exhort his clan to victory in whatever endeavor they undertook, from sailing regattas to presidential races. And they usually fulfilled his wish. In Massachusetts, his sons Jack and Ted, grandson Joe II, and great-grandson Joe III racked up a total of 26 Democratic primary victories. Until this past week, only Sen. Robert Kennedy of New York had lost a Bay State primary — the 1968 presidential contest — to Wisconsin Sen. Gene McCarthy.

Bobby’s grandson, Congressman Joe Kennedy III, let an early lead in the polls slip away in the 2020 Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary, losing to incumbent Sen. Ed Markey. This most recent ding on the Camelot legacy included a stunning Markey campaign ad in which he turned JFK’s most famous line on its head. “We asked what we could do for our country. We went out; we did it,” the 74-year-old Markey observed. “With all due respect, it’s time to start asking what your country can do for you.”

Read the full article in The Hill

Barbara Perry

Barbara A. Perry is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor and Director of Presidential Studies at the Miller Center, where she co-directs the Presidential Oral History Program. She has authored or edited 12 books on presidents, First Ladies, the Kennedy family, the Supreme Court, and civil rights and civil liberties. Professor Perry has conducted more than 100 interviews for the George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush Oral History Projects; researched the Bill Clinton Oral History Project interviews, and directed the Edward Kennedy Oral History Project. She served as a U.S. Supreme Court fellow and has worked for both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate.