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The Kennedy Camelot spell is finally broken. Good riddance.

28 0
26.06.2026

Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy, lost New York City's congressional Democratic primary on June 23. His defeat may finally mark the end of Camelot. If so, it's long overdue.

The news coverage afterward had a wistful, end-of-an-era tone. As a New York Times headline put it: "Schlossberg's Defeat Dampens Dream of a Renewed Camelot."

I say good riddance. Camelot was a lie America had been telling itself for more than 60 years, and it's time we stopped.

Camelot was never just shorthand for admiring JFK. It was the claim that the Kennedys represented a uniquely noble, enlightened brand of American leadership, untouchable by the ordinary failures of politics.

The lie about the Kennedys we kept telling ourselves

The myth made Schlossberg ‒ son of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg ‒ an early front-runner on his roots alone, before voters got a good look at him. It's also the myth that survived evidence that would have ended almost any other political dynasty.

Schlossberg was a political novice with no coherent policy platform beyond a vague call to shake up politics. What he had, at 33, was star power, built almost entirely on his last name.

Even some Democrats saw through it. "He was seen as somebody who was very entertaining," longtime Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf told The Times, “but not necessarily serious.”

Schlossberg insisted otherwise.

Supporters "don't just like me because I'm a........

© USA TODAY