The New Frontier
Kennedy's administration was a new and young administration. The average age of those on his cabinet was 47 (and that is young for government operations). He did things that other presidents were hesitant, or resistant to do and that is change the way government functions. He pushed government operations in a new direction:
Example: Space Administration.
In 1957, the Russians launched the first satellite into space called Sputnik I. Then, in 1961, the Soviets sent the first man to space; Yuri Gargarin. If the Soviets were in space, the Americans must be there as well. Kennedy started NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to compete with the Soviet Union when it came to space exploration and understanding.
Kennedy, and the Democrats, were very much opposed to communism and the Soviet Union but they were not as eager to compete with the Russians militarily. Kennedy believed that the US could compete with the Soviets in through other avenues.