I’m reading a forthcoming biography of legendary liberal Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory, in which the author, anxious to defend McGrory from the charge of being in the tank for President Kennedy, writes the following: “But Mary was not entirely a stargazer when it came to Kennedy. She acknowledged his personal shortcomings and the problems during his term.” The first indictment on her bill of particulars against Kennedy, as quoted?

He invaded Cuba – and never relented in his hostility to Fidel Castro.

Now, I’m sure Mary McGrory would agree that, at this late date, we can forgive President Kennedy for his myopia in resisting Castro. After all, unlike JFK, we have the benefit of hindsight: We can see the kind of society and government the Castro regime has been bestowing for over five decades on the fortunate Cuban people. If only President Kennedy could have seen what Castro’s Cuba turned into — the economic prosperity! the respect for human rights! — boy, would he have been embarrassed by all the mean stuff he used to say about Fidel.