Historians and the public often have different views on the presidency of John F. Kennedy, a Carthage College history professor said.

The public holds Kennedy in high regard but historians rate him in the lower half of the list of good presidents, said the professor, Tom Noer.

Noer, who has written a book, magazine stories and contributed chapters to books related to Kennedy, argued the conflict comes down to substance versus style.

“It’s the image we respond to more than the substance, and that’s natural,” he said. “That happens with other presidents, too.”...