Kennedy got us started to the moon

[kairos12]

while the Orange Loofah won’t/can’t deliver tooth brushes to children.

[csziggy]

1. Hey - he can lob paper towels at Puerto Ricans - doesn't that count?

[customerserviceguy]

2. While JFK

was instrumental in aiming us firmly on the path to the moon, I'd have to give a lot of credit to both Eisenhower and LBJ for their efforts, too. While acting as Senate Majority Leader, LBJ managed to get the space program pushed through to compete with the USSR's efforts.

[LanternWaste]

3. 'Instrumental' seems to be damning with faint praise, at best.

Try 'Countdown: 2979 Days to the Moon' by Suzanne Slade and/or 'American Moonshot' by Douglas Brinkley for a primer on the relative merits of what the particular leaders did and did not do.

[customerserviceguy]

4. You can't deny

that the space program began in the Eisenhower years. All of the Mercury astronauts were picked before JFK spent his first day in office. Yes, Kennedy's moon speech is famous, but others led the efforts, too.