Blog post for reading 7

Kennedy seems to be more decisive than most of the recent presidents we have studied. His firm handling of the Cuban missile crisis and unwillingness to budge was certainly gutsy, and it took a lot of courage to resist the calls from his advisors to order air strikes against Cuba, even after an American pilot was shot down. However, it seems as if his actions were also partially influenced by his desire to appear tough. “I’ll have to show him that we can be as tough as he is … I’ll have to sit down and let him see who he is dealing with.” And while this attitude helped him take a strong stance, it could also potentially be very dangerous. Patterson talks about other potential ways that Kennedy could have negotiated with Khrushchev without resorting to national television. Do you think that calling the Soviets out in public and forcing them to humiliate themselves was the only option?