In an idle moment, I stumbled upon this quote from JFK on wikiquote.org: “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

That got me thinking. Let’s just disregard for a moment whether or not you agree or disagree with the sentiment expressed. Let’s even dismiss that fact that someone else – a speech writer, perhaps – may have written this pithy little gem for JFK. We are still left with these logical conclusions:

• FK was able to articulate this verbally and be understood by his public.
• He most likely understood the essence of what he was saying.

Here’s the question that arises from this, for me: Can you imagine, in your wildest dreams, that George W. Bush would be capable of this? Or Stephen Harper, for that matter?

If not, then do we draw the conclusion that our society has allowed it self to settle for lesser leaders than those of the past? Or were those leaders just exceptional people who only surface every half century or so? Inquiring minds want to know.