Review of "The Kennedy Wit," edited by Bill Adler

 Review of

The Kennedy Wit, edited by Bill Adler

Five out of five stars

Being capable of humor seems a necessity for presidents

 Some of the most successful presidents have had a touch of humor about them. No less a person than Abraham Lincoln was famed for his humorous nature and Ronald Reagan was very deft at using humor to deflect criticism. Barack Obama was also very skilled at delivering a quip.

 John Kennedy was also a possessor of a quick wit. I’ll never forget the time that he was presenting a medal to an astronaut and he dropped it. He quickly interjected, “… this medal that literally has gone from the ground up.” Very funny moment. He also used humor to deflect and deflate criticisms.

 This book is a brief collection of some of John Kennedy’s best known humorous lines. While some of them were scripted, many of them were clearly ad libs when a humorous situation presented itself. The timeframe goes back to the start of his political career. One of the best was when Kennedy was asked how he became a war hero. His truthful answer was, “They sunk my ship.”

 This is a good book and captures Kennedy at his best, deflating difficult situations with a quip and virtual wink.