Why are people always blaming the wrong president?

The economy was upticking when Bush left office. The surplus came later from influx of dotcom financial sandcastles and Asian money, both of which disappeared in the late 1990's. Carter was clueless, and had he been reelected, the hostages would have been held another 4 years. They were released on Reagan's inauguration day as a final Iranian slap against Carter. JFK gets a big sympathy vote because of the means of his death. Being favorite and being best are two different criteria, and it's nearly impossible to correlate the two (the first being popularity and the second being policies advancing American interests), so I wouldn't let it annoy you. JFK did have a quick, memorable wit and lively press conferences, and was a very likable man.