Washington: Americans reflected Saturday on the presidency of John F Kennedy, who was assassinated 45 years ago, as once again a young, inspiring president is headed to the White House.
President-elect Barack Obama has often been compared for his lofty ideals and charisma to the late JFK, who was shot dead in Dallas, Texas in 1963.
But Obama's appeal and his historic election as the first African-American US president have many people worried about potential threats to his life.
"He is inspirational, he is an historic figure, he is the first African-American president; but there is also -- because of that potential for stirring up social unrest -- that also makes him a target," said Scott Stuart, senior terror and security analyst for Statfor, a publisher of geopolitical intelligence.
The threats to Obama are nothing new in American politics. Four American presidents were assassinated: Abraham Lincoln in 1865,James Garfield in 1880,William McKinley in 1900,and JFK.
President Kennedy's brother Robert F Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King were both gunned down in 1968.
There have also been assassination attempts against Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.
"It s not only JFK. It's Robert Kennedy, it's Martin Luther King. We have had a history of violence against inspirational leaders in the US," explained James Thurber, professor of government at American University.
