What Mr. Kerry, and most of the people who have not done their research into the Cuban Missile Crisis, is that Kennedy DID NOT stand the Russians down. It saddens me that the accuracy of this event would lead one to believe Kennedy was being strong. Kennedy SCREWED EUROPE and specifically Turkey. He struck a deal with the Russians that in order to get the missiles out of Cuba, he would wait a few months and remove the missiles from Turkey. The deal is public knowledge today. However, it was kept from the American public to give the impression that Kennedy had stood up to Communism.
From my viewpoint, Kennedy was a masterful politician. This improved his immage in the American public as being tough on communism. The perception and the reality, as in most cases are two different things. What is completely amazing to me, is that the American people are still pretty much in the dark as to how this went down, yet the documents, 1st hand accounts,ect are right there.