Welcome to a special edition of the Pivot Points newsletter, by Frank Islam & Ed Crego, dedicated this week to the memory of John F Kennedy, who we lost 50 years ago this past Friday...

Ask Not, Ask Why Not
Fifty years later, too many of today's politicians, in the shorthand of the day, have reduced and diminished JFK's vision to "ask not," when his true legacy, carried on by we, the people, lies in GB Shaw's "ask why not" that all three Kennedy brothers echoed in their lives and lifetimes...

http://bit.ly/asknot_askwhynot


What We're Reading (Dallek, Dionne, Will, Kennedy, Lincoln)
Author Robert Dallek on why critics who harp on what Kennedy did/didn't accomplish legislatively in office are missing the very American point of what he meant to the country...

http://bit.ly/dallek_kennedy

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne further explores the reasons both liberals and conservatives want to 'get right' with Kennedy and claim him as their own...

http://bit.ly/dionne_kennedy

WaPo columnist George Will makes the conservative case for that claim...

http://bit.ly/will_kennedy

All three writers speak, directly or indirectly, to what we lost, and what we need to regain again.  A reminder from happier times to hopefully inspire us anew...

http://bit.ly/kennedy_inaugural

Last week also marked the 150th anniversary of a signal moment in the legacy of another president who led--and continues to lead--us with his words.  Unfortunately, as too often happens today,  it became a case for ginned-up political controversy, which we think is best ignored, focusing instead on that memorable message from one and one-half centuries ago.  Here's a link to all five versions of the Gettysburg address--enjoy...

http://bit.ly/gettyburg_versions



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More from Ed and Frank:  Check out the full Pivot Points blog & archive (July 2010-June 2013 here), as well as our Working The Pivot Points and Renewing the Dream websites 

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