Did US Presidency take a nose dive after JFK?

THE origin of what historian Arthur Schlesinger called the Imperial Presidency now expanding the American empire under George W Bush can be traced back to the 1960s and Vietnam, but might never have emerged if JFK had survived Dallas.

The irony, of course, is that Kennedy, who visited Ireland 40 years ago this yearsanctioned the build-up of American forces in South-East Asia, thus sowing the seeds of the hubris that was to transform the Presidency. Not on his watch though.

There is reason to believe that by the time he came to Ireland in June 1963, JFK was already having a rethink about the American involvement in Vietnam, and anticipating a second term in the White House was preparing the way for a withdrawal of US forces. sanctioned the build-up of American forces in South-East Asia, thus sowing the seeds of the hubris that was to transform the Presidency. Not on his watch though.