Speaking of taxes, Caroline's father,
before Reagan and Bush did, pushed for across-the-board tax cuts that
would, as he put it in his campaign, get the country moving again. The
Kennedy tax cuts worked, just as the Reagan and Bush cuts did.
Obama has proposed eliminating the earnings cap on Social Security
taxes, now set at the first $97,500 of income. According to the
Heritage Foundation, Obama's proposal would raise the taxes for 97,065
carpenters, 110,908 police officers, 254,992 nurses, 208,562
post-secondary teachers and 237,000 dentists.
"Let every nation know, whether it
wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden,
meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to
assure the survival and the success of liberty." Sounds like the Bush
policy to us.
To carry out that pledge, JFK said, "We dare not tempt them with
weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be
certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed." Is Obama in
favor of a defense buildup to confront a resurgent Russia and an
ambitious China?
If Caroline wants, as the title of her piece suggests, "A President
Like My Father," it is not Barack Obama. Today, John F. Kennedy would
likely switch parties and become a Republican.