• I would say that both of these leaders understood the time period in which they were a part. Both Kennedy and Eisenhower completely grasped the fact that they were products of their times and they acted in a manner that reflected this, allowing them to be popular with many of their constituents. Eisenhower understood that the post World War II prosperity of America was his ticket to ensure a content body politic. His policies sought to bank on this prosperity. He was not looking for a problem to fix, as he understood that the period after the war was one where America stood on very solid ground. With such prosperity, the natural inclination was to preach conservative ideology and attempt to maximize its effect. Kennedy was wise enough to understand that the kids during Eisenhower's tenure were now socially active young adults during his. It is in this light that Kennedy was able to use this sense of idealism and tap into it as a reservoir of energy and zeal. Kennedy's vision of a socially democratic nation that was willing to change itself and the world fit very well with the transformative vision of the 1960s. It is in this light that Kennedy governed. He understood that America, in particular its youth, was not asking for conservative "wait and see" on issues of Civil Rights, social equality, or the sense of what can be done. There was an energy present and Kennedy did not resist it, but rather banked on it as a major part of his presidency. Few leaders understood the