- When discussing presidents who displayed “uncommon courage,” Obama identified JFK. “During the Cuban Missile Crisis, facing intense pressure from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and congressional leaders to bomb and invade Cuba, John F. Kennedy stood firm. With his determined leadership and his calm, rational judgment, he forged a strong path to peace that used aggressive diplomacy backed by military force, and helped bring the world back from the brink of war.”
Lesson 1: Negotiate from strength. Lesson 2: Take time to discuss possible solutions.
“The Contenders: An Admiring Crowd,” Newsweek, May 13, 2007.
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- On the campaign trail, about Iran: “In Montana, Obama said President Kennedy’s willingness to engage the Soviets defused the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Obama asked, ‘Why shouldn’t we have the same courage and the confidence to talk to our enemies?’”
Lesson: Talk with adversaries during crisis.
Richard Sisk, “Iran No ‘Tiny’ Threat, Mac Barks at Barack,” New York Daily News, May 20, 2008.
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- “Obama often quotes JFK’s words from his inaugural address, ‘Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.’”
Lesson: It is necessary to negotiate in crises, but only from a position of strength.
Evan Thomas, “The Mythology of Munich,” Newsweek, June 23, 2008.
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- How Obama and McCain see the world: “Obama himself, in private meetings, has cited Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a model, especially how JFK consulted widely and negotiated directly with the Soviets to defuse an intense situation effectively. Obama admires Kennedy’s steady, cool leadership and his ability to bring many people into the process: Ben Rhodes says that Obama also often cites the successful resolution of the crisis as an example of what can come from negotiations, even if there is no immediate resolution. Only five months before, JFK held a summit in Vienna with Nikita Khrushchev. “JFK had begun to acquire some knowledge of Khrushchev, which not only enabled him to be in touch with the Kremlin during the crisis, but to have a little bit of insight into the guy,” says Rhodes. “There are benefits to direct contact with adversaries, even if you don’t reach agreement. You get to know your adversary.” (Newsweek, 10/6/08)
Lesson: (1) Negotiation is necessary in a crisis. (2) Access to wide and varied opinions is necessary in formulating a crisis response.
Michael Hirsh, “World’s Apart,” Newsweek, October 6, 2008.
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- During his senior year at Columbia, Obama participated in a seminar on U.S. foreign policy. “The first semester…covered such Cold-War flashpoints as the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
William J. Broad and David Sanger, “Obama’s Youth Shaped His Nuclear-Free Vision,” New York Times, July 4, 2009.
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- About Afghanistan: “Aides said Obama looked to President John F. Kennedy’s relationship with the military, in particular how he managed the Cuban Missile Crisis when his military leaders urged a quick strike on the island, an act he resisted. One senior adviser said Obama valued Kennedy’s ‘think before you shoot’ ethos.”
Lesson: Take time to determine a strategy during a crisis: “Think before you shoot.”
Scott Wilson, “The Making of a Wartime Commander in Chief,” Washington Post, January 19, 2010.
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