Also, Khrushchev could have made the situation a lot more awkward for Kennedy than he did, but he knew that this would be risking a nuclear war. Khrushchev was prepared to compromise with Kennedy to resolve the crisis, before the situation became too dangerous.
I do not think that Khrushchev intended a nuclear war, as he knew that if this happened it would be the end of Russia. I think that he could have been playing with and taunting Kennedy by making him feel the danger and by letting him know that the result of the situation was not just in Kennedy’s hands. I think that Kennedy over reacted. He wanted everything to go his way and I do not think that he liked feeling out of control. This was Khrushchev’s way of showing Kennedy who was in charge and I think that Kennedy blew the whole thing out of proportion and in doings so, made the situation more dangerous.
Around half of Americans considered Kennedy to be a saviour, which was shown in the elections where 51% voted for Kennedy and 49% against. I think that if they had had an unbiased view of the crisis, there would not have been as many people in favour of Kennedy. The public were only told what Kennedy wanted them to know. The picture that was painted of Kennedy was not entirely true.
The evidence that supports Khrushchev is obviously anti-Kennedy and only presents one viewpoint, that of the Russians. The sources show Kennedy to be deceiving and manipulating and make you feel angry towards him and feel sorry for Khrushchev. However, the evidence supporting Kennedy gives a completely different version of events. Kennedy is shown to be doing everything possible to stop a nuclear war and Khrushchev is shown to be awkward and aggressive. These sources are also biased, as they only present one viewpoint. The sources that support neither of the leaders give an unbiased account of the situation and are neutral. These sources tell you what happened without taking sides, and are the most reliable as they show Khrushchev and Kennedy for what they really are.
I think that both Khrushchev and Kennedy played an equal part in resolving the missiles crisis. I do not consider Kennedy as being the saviour of the Western World as I feel that Khrushchev deserved credit as well. I think that both leaders were not very co-operative and that they both tried to make life more difficult for the other. However, at some points during the crisis I think that Kennedy was more to blame than Khrushchev as Kennedy him, which caused more trouble and made the situation worse. I think that Kennedy wanted to be known as a ‘saviour’, however his actions did not agree with this unreal image of himself.