Jeff Jacoby's editorial in the Sunday Globe talked about one of Barak Obama's (likened to JFK) campaign workers who hung a picture of Che Guevara in one of his campaign offices. Che, of course, was a violent revolutionary, Castro's philosophical mentor and cohort. JFK hated Che Guevara. Barak came out tepidly against the action of his campaign worker. Jacoby thought Barak's response was not emphatic enough. I wrote a letter to the Globe about it.


Jeff Jacoby's article "What Would JFK Do?" was thought provoking. He is right if someone in John McCain's campaign had a picture of David Duke or the KKK there would be hell to pay although I do remember someone named Santorum who proudly displayed the stars and bars. I remember working for a Republican State Committee in the late 60's. Curious to me at the time because I was an ardent Democrat, I met some wonderful people at the Committee about whom I still think fondly. Many were kind, loving and humane people who were very nice to me. There were others of the rank and file, though, whom I met who secretly harbored love of their right wing fascist heroes. One young man it was told to me threw a wreath upon the water during Hitler's birthday. How could such different types occupy the same group? The fact is each side of the political spectrum has its extremists.

Although the philosophical underpinning of extreme left wing politics is allegedly egalitarian and humane those who take power through violent means are often anything but that. Many such as Stalin, Che, Castro, Mao, Pol Pot, Kim Jong IL and others are/were brutal killers wrapped up in a Marxist blanket which is not warm and fuzzy. Why some of the left make excuses, look the other way and remain uncritical of them is something that is hard for me to fathom. Likened often to JFK, Barak Obama, while always defending free expression, should come out vociferously against a campaign worker hanging a picture of Che Guevara in one of his headquarters.