Speculation time: How do you think the U.S. and the world would have been different if JFK had not been assassinated 50 years ago?

We would probably have a lot less stupid documentaries about conspiracy theories on the history channel.

I've seen documentaries saying the Vietnam War would have ended earlier, that he would have supported the civil rights movement and who knows what else with the Soviets? But I think JFK would have done none of those things. I think he was a very average president who will always be remembered for the way he died rather than for anything he achieved in office.

I do wonder, though, if Nixon would have been elected, if Bobby Kennedy had lived. That would have made a profound difference in the U.S.

If he followed through with what he was planning to do (and possibly assassinated for) the world might be very different today. He realized early on that the Vietnam War and the Cold War in general was a waste of time and resources. He planned to cut back on the military and to show the world the faults of Communism through friendly rivalry with the Soviets that was more focused on economic success and less focused on arms.

People tend to gloss over the Cold War compared to WWII, but it had a huge impact in shaping our world today. The war on Communism was the reason the US deposed democratically elected leaders in the Middle East and around the world. In particular, we took out all the pragmatic leaders in the Middle East because they leaned too far to the left, leaving only the religious fundamentalists to fill the vacuum.

There's a fascinating documentary series by Oliver Stone (The Untold History of the United States) that makes you wonder how history would have changed if things like the JFK assassination or Truman winning the presidential nomination near the end of the war never happened. You might think he's a conspiracy nut, but his explanations of history definitely make a lot of sense in the context of what we see in the world today.

Or one could read a book or two, and then come to the conclusion that very little would have changed. The American mood is not dictated by the president - just the opposite.

Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.

If Kennedy's vision had played out, we would have zero welfare, no illegals, no debt and Social Security recipients would be taking vacations to Hawaii twice a year.

Too bad the democrats turned into socialists that can't balance a checkbook. JFK has rolled over in the grave watching the demise of the working American missing out on his or her American dream.

RR

The most important thing is that we would not have had the trauma that followed the JFK murder. There would be other assassinations in the the 1960s that would traumatize us nevertheless.

Other than that, the Vietnam horror probably would happened on one hand and major strides in civil rights would be made on the other, which is what happened under LDP.

It is possible that JFK would have died in office. He was heavily doped up with painkillers and anti-depressants. His body might not have been able to take it.

Camelot would probably have fizzled out if JFK escalated the war in Vietnam. He might have ended his second term as unpopular as Johnson.

One thing I am certain of. He would have been reelected. There was not a Republican around that could compete with him.