Politician names on public works is free advertising

When workers scraped Donald Trump's name off the Donald Trump and John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center, they should have kept going. They should have taken Kennedy's name off as well and restored the building to its original, simple title, the National Culture Center. After President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, Congress renamed the center after him. The New York International Airport, charmingly referred to as Idlewild, suddenly became the John F. Kennedy International Airport. And hundreds of schools across the country plastered "John F. Kennedy" on their facades. It is one thing to name airports, bridges and other public works after the handful of great presidents who saved the country: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower. It's another to similarly memorialize ordinary politicians for posterity, even those who did a mostly good job. Why did they change the short, descriptive name of Washington National Airport to the convoluted Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport? Both Reagan and JFK were popular presidents, but neither left behind achievements monumental enough to justify turning airports into their shrines. Kennedy was young, charismatic and died tragically, but as president, he did not-good things. He authorized the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, a fiasco. He didn't start U.S. involvement in Vietnam, but he greatly expanded it. And he was a serial womanizer, in some cases, risking national security. But Kennedy and his circle were masters at peddling their era as Camelot, the myth of a golden age out of King Arthur. In an interview shortly after the assassination, JFK's widow, the glamorous Jacqueline Kennedy, quoted the "one brief shining moment" line from the musical "Camelot." Since then, Kennedy after Kennedy has run for office off the curated glow. Most were elected and some were competent. But this free promotion of "America's royal family" drowned the arguments of more-qualified, hard-working public servants who wanted the jobs. Now we have JFK's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, running for Jerry Nadler's congressional district covering Manhattan's wealthy Upper East and Upper West Sides. Whatever Democrat secures the nomination is almost sure to win in November. Schlossberg has arguably less than zero qualifications. His chief achievement at age 33 is as an "influencer" on social media, posting lots of selfie videos and whatever draws clicks. Nonetheless, New York tabloids are putting the words "Camelot" and "Kennedy Mystique" in their headlines about his campaign. One political writer gushed that "a Kennedy" was running. Former House Speak Nancy Pelosi made a fool of herself endorsing Schlossberg on a TV ad with the tagline "Believe in something again." Everyone knows the handsome fellow is the son of Carolyn Kennedy. Another Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is busy putting Americans' lives as risk as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. RFK Jr. is a crackpot famous for bashing life-saving vaccines. On taking over HHS, he fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, booted about 20,000 employees and slashed cutting-edge medical research. Why did Trump choose him? "Bobby" is a colorful kook who endorsed Trump in the 2024 election. What makes him extra fun for the unserious is that he's "a Kennedy." To bring this full circle, RFK Jr. is the son of Robert F. Kennedy. New Yorkers driving toward what they still call the Triborough Bridge see that it's now called the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, named for Bobby's dad, after he was assassinated. The elder RFK moved into the state the day he proclaimed his candidacy to represent New York in the Senate. Politicos naming public works after other politicos, or in Trump's case, himself, is a racket. It is free advertising on tax-supported government structures. Stop it.