Reply #14: Kennedy also instigated that crisis.

[Radical Activist]

With the bay of pigs invasion and other hostile action, Cuba was forced to turn to the Soviet Union for protection. There were several ways he could have avoided coming that close to a crisis.

The idea that Kennedy would have withdrawn from Vietnam is entirely speculative. In 1963, LBJ had no plan to escalate the war either. But you did mention the real reason he'll be overrated as a President until we get more time behind us for perspective: the assassination.