Why this lionization of JFK?

[Journeyman]

15. "The secret of immortality," wrote G.B. Shaw, "is knowing when to die." . . .

We remember John for the the hope he inspired, the vigor of youth he embodied, and the promise his public words and deeds conveyed that the world was on course to a better, brighter future.

It was only later, largely in retrospect and somewhat at the hands of gossipmongers, that his feet were shown to be clay, his principles situational, and his virtues tarnished.

The revelations, however, have proved inadequate to tarnishing the memories. The dream survives because it was so vivid. The promise prevails because without it life would prove too empty. And the hope remains because it has been with us from the beginning -- spawned by Jefferson, reaffirmed by Lincoln, restored by Franklin Roosevelt. From that hope we can generate anew the dreams that will carry us into the future, a future that grows increasingly bright if we but know how to focus on the promise of the light . . .

When President Kennedy was killed, Mary McGrory is said to have lamented to Pat Moynihan, "We'll never laugh again." And Moynihan, still in the dawn of a long and distinguished public service career, is said to have replied, "Mary, we'll laugh again, but we'll never be young again."