Harry: What time is this going to begin?

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:06

Caitlin Flanagan: Harry, it's on.

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:06

kelly: Why do you think Americans cared so much more about Bill Clinton's indiscretions than JFK's? Was it just because it was a different era, or is JFK just somehow magically immune to that kind of judgment?

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:06

Caitlin Flanagan: I think of course that it was a different era. But, for all of his womanizing, Kennedy didn't leave any unhappy customers behind. If what so many apparently well-informed sources say is true about Clinton - that his sexual past includes not only a wide number of partners, but also a significant number of women who report (at the very least) aggressive and unwanted sexual approaches from him, this seems not to have been JFK's style at all. He may have broken hearts, but I've never read a single account in which a woman felt that he had done anything other than seduce her.

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:11

Harry: this is painful. it's like watching paint dry

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:12

Caitlin Flanagan: Harry, there are other things to do on the Internet besides hovering on at Atlantic live chat.

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:13

alison: What do you think makes a man a good father? (President or not.)

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:13

Caitlin Flanagan: I'm sitting a friend who just offered a good answer to this one: "undying loyalty."

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:15

Sam: Has the definitive number of women Kennedy slept with while a) married & b) in office ever been determined?

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:15

Caitlin Flanagan: No - but there are numerous accounts that suggest if he wasn't in Wilt Chamberlin territory, he wasn't too far off.

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:17

arosner: There's one thing I wasn't totally clear on after reading your article. It was obviously a different time back in JFK's day. A president could be having all sorts of affairs and suffering from secret illnesses, and the public didn't really need to know about it. But do you think that way of operating is better than the way we do things today? Do we need more of that romance in our politics, or is it dangerous?

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:17

Caitlin Flanagan: Romance seems to be essential for political success - policy differences aside, Obama is enjoying a romance with his supporters, while Romney can't get to first base.

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:19

Lockwood: Did his early death affect our perception of him? Would we feel the same way about his womanizing if we didn't see his life cut short?

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:19

Caitlin Flanagan: Certainly his early death shaped our perception of his to a great extent. He was an athlete dying young, in that respect.

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:20

Harry: you ain't kidding there, Caitlin

Wednesday July 11, 2012 3:20