Obama praises idealism of JFK as he marks 50 years since assassination
Beleaguered president recalls idealism of Democratic icon on anniversary of killing 50 years ago
Barack Obama placed a wreath at President John F. Kennedy's grave, marking 50 years since the assassination that helped shape the presidency and every man who has held the office since.
Obama was just two years old, living in Hawaii, when Kennedy was shot. He is the first president with no memory of the moment.
That time and distance have undoubtedly shaped how Obama views the legacy of Kennedy, a figure who would be mythologised in popular culture and turned into a Democratic icon by the time Obama came of age politically.
But that generational distance has not kept Obama from using parts of the Kennedy aura - youth, optimism and glamour - to his advantage.
Kennedy comparisons were central to the narrative of Obama's first bid for the White House, culminating in a pass-the-torch endorsement from the murdered president's daughter, Caroline. She declared that, for first time, she had found a candidate "who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them".
Nearly six years later, such comparisons are far less frequent, a fact that speaks to both America's brand of Kennedy nostalgia and Obama's sinking political position.
