"On the morning of October 16, 1962, National Security Advisor McGeorge
Bundy informed
President John F. Kennedy that U.S. surveillance aircraft
had discovered the presence of Soviet
missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles
from American soil. It was the start of the Cuban Missile Crisis,
which
brought the world to the brink of nuclear war."
A comparatively young (45 years) President was about to face the unthinkable. And the man with the authority to "push the button" on the other side of the world, causing the crisis, was a chubby little tyrant by the name of Nikita Khrushchev. A piece of work who was known to rant and rave during United Nations Assembly meetings. The same guy who talked of "burying" the US. A man not considered to have all the cards in his deck.
I didn't vote for Kennedy. I didn't have a very high opinion of him. But the man had what it took to face the crisis, make the decisions that needed to be made (without giving any thought to opinion polls or future elections) and take actions that avoided nuclear war. My opinion of him changed. Considerably.
I take things like that event into consideration when I vote for a President of our Nation. I want someone who I think will be able to stand up and do what's needed. Diplomacy is always the prime consideration. Sanctions must be an early option. But, when it's time to stop cutting bait and get on with the fishing, I want someone who knows what to do. Who won't be afraid to take on the first responsibility of a Leader... positive action.
The History Channel has a brief article and some facts about the incident you may not know.
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