..program on H tonight - very interesting and ultimately very sad - to see how low the office has been taken by its recent occupants.

Maybe the most interesting revelation in the show - the Bay of Pigs may have saved the world from Armageddon.

While Kennedy was still green and getting his bearings, he manages to allow various experts to convince him to go forward with the Bay of Pigs invasion. Later he's just kicking himself and bitching to Robert - "Why did I allow the experts to convince me to do it? I got here by ingnoring experts."

During the Missle Crisis, almost everyone, including Johnson, were urging a first strike that would likely have led to a nuclear exchange. But Kennedy kept his own counsel - and finally went with his gut, ignoring all the talking heads. An advisor mentions how Kennedy was mentally miles in front of everyone in the room - they were all outclassed by his intelligence and judgement. Fool me once...

Did the bad experience at the Bay give Kennedy the balls to follow his own path?

It's almost impossible to believe that a man like Kennedy, and ones like Nixon and Bush, could occupy the same office. I did get a very slight feeling, however, at the end of this program, that Bush represents the nadir of American politics and we will go up from here, to a renewal of Kennedy's vision - I say this because at the end of this program is a segment in which Germans at the Brandenburg Gate watch a film of Kennedy giving his famous "Let them come to Berlin!" speech. These people - many of them - who had suffered so much in the 20th century from bad leadership - were in tears over an American speaking English. People loved Kennedy because, whatever his faults, he made things possible. When I see him talking to Europeans, I myself get a tear in the eye - a tear of pride - this is my countryman - this optimism, grace, courage - this is what we are.

Bush will visit the UK this week and discover how thoroughly despised he is - and every last American should be embarrassed to have this smirking punk represent us. This is what we are not.

Please God - send us another man.