In Tapes, Candid Talk by Young Kennedy Widow

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

In the early days of the Cuban missile crisis, before the world knew that the cold war seemed to be sliding toward nuclear conflict, President John F. Kennedy telephoned his wife, Jacqueline, at their weekend house in Virginia. From his voice, she would say later, she could tell that something was wrong. Why don’t you come back to Washington? he asked, without explanation.

“From then on, it seemed there was no waking or sleeping,” Mrs. Kennedy recalls in an oral history scheduled to be released Wednesday, 47 years after the interviews were conducted. When she learned that the Soviets were installing missiles in Cuba aimed at American cities, she begged her husband not to send her away. “If anything happens, we’re all going to stay right here with you,” she says she told him in October 1962. “I just want to be with you, and I want to die with you, and the children do, too — than live without you.”

The seven-part interview conducted in early 1964 — one of only three that Mrs. Kennedy gave after Mr. Kennedy’s assassination — is being published as a book and an audio recording. In it, the young widow speaks with Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., the historian and Kennedy aide, about her husband’s presidency, their marriage and her role in his political life. They do not discuss his death. The eight and a half hours of interviews had been kept private at the request of Mrs. Kennedy, who never spoke publicly about those years again before she died in 1994.The transcript and recording, obtained by The New York Times, offer an extraordinary immersion in the thoughts and feelings of one of the most enigmatic figures of the second half of the 20th century — the woman who, as much as anyone, helped shape a heroic narrative of the Kennedy years. Though the interviews seem unlikely to redraw the contours of Mr. Kennedy or his presidency, they are packed with intimate observations and insights of the sort that historians treasure.

At just 34, and in what her daughter, Caroline Kennedy, describes in a foreword to the book as “the extreme stages of grief,” Mrs. Kennedy displays a cool self-possession and a sharp, somewhat unforgiving eye. In her distinctive breathy cadences, an intimate tone and the impeccable diction of women of her era and class, she delivers tart commentary on former presidents, heads of state, her husband’s aides, powerful women, women reporters, even her mother-in-law.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/us/12jackie.html?pagewanted=all

[No Elephants]

1. And the children, too?

[harmonicon]

2. It's almost as if it's just worthless rambling...

but since it starts with a K, it's on the front page. I honestly don't care what some clueless trophy-wife of billionaires though about anything. She wanted her kids to die before her husband? Sure, why not.

[unionworks]

10. Jackie Kennnedy is anything...

...but clueless. I grew up working class, but my parents had friends who had money. They were wonderful to me, and I learned that money or. The lack of it doesn't make people good or bad. Or happy, for that matter. Perhaps you should consider that?

[rosesaylavee]

11. Jackie Kennedy was no clueless trophy wife.

What an absolutely historically ignorant thing to say. Read some history sometime and then form an opinion. Turn off the TV and put away the comic books.

[harmonicon]

12. Her accomplishments in this world were ... ?

Other than getting married to rich and powerful men, I can't think of one. I don't watch tv, and all of my comic books are at my parents' house, but I don't remember having any that were first-lady based (though later I might call my friend who writes comic books and pitch him that as a premise; SFLs).

[rosesaylavee]

13. Graduate of Vassar and 20 years as an editor

for Doubleday. Other than that, one of the iconic individuals of the last century. I guess your brilliant accomplishments make hers pale in comparison.

[harmonicon]

16. Graduated from college?! Wow!! nt.

[rosesaylavee]

17. Yes. She had an education - unlike some others. Really, that's your best response?

[leftynyc]

19. Jealousy is very unbecomming

You obviously don't know shit about Mrs. Kennnedy.

[karynnj]

15. So, there is not accomplishment if it is not made into a comic book??

Jackie Kennedy did lead an excellent redecorating of the White House - something her fine arts backround was useful for. She, and her husband, brought the arts into the White House.

Now, none of these cure diseases or help people in poverty, but they were things that helped the country.

As to no comic books - well, there were kids' books, paper dolls, and a wonderful tv tour of the White House.

[defendandprotect]

26. You're judging Mrs. Kennedy according to standards in a male-dominated world?

What were Henry Kissinger's "accomplishments" -- or Richard Nixon's -- ?

Or even Obama's at this point -- knocking out Social Security and Medicare?

Rather, we have many notorious males among us --

and don't recall Mrs. Kennedy starting any wars or supporting them!!

[ebayfool]

21. I don't know if you are old enough to remember that part ...

of the missile crisis, but I was just old enough to remember bits. If a parent thought that nuclear war was about to commence, it would seem a normal response to want all loved ones together. Including the kids. I don't think anyone could guess at that time just how bad or survivable that scenario would be - so it's really not surprising that she said she & the kids should stay with him. I do remember the adults feeling that it would be a death sentence for everyone.

[DesertFlower]

25. i was 21 and the mother of a 1-1/2 year old child.

most of my friends had young children. we all got together and went to church and prayed. i was catholic back then and so were my friends. we were so scared.

[defendandprotect]

27. +1 --

[No Elephants]

29. She is saying the kids would rather die than live without JFK. Did she ask them?

Do you think that's true-that they wished they had died when he was shot?

Her quote is not merely about the "natural" response of heading for a bomb shelter as a family and neither was my post. Both were about her saying her kids preferred to die than live without JFK, which (a) she seems to have made up from whole cloth and (b) who would take a three year old's word on whether they'd rather die anyway? It's attributing a death wish to a 3 year old that I found questionable; and your response did not really address that part at all.

Although this was not covered in my post: Yes, of course, the typical family would have headed for a bomb shelter together, if they had one. What would be the alternative for the typical family? Leaving a 3 year old to out of the shelter, on his own?

That was not her situation. Her situation was that her children would have been taken care of no matter where they were. And she and they were in a presumably more safe place than D.C. and she was going to move them to a less safe place--and with the explanation that THEY preferred to die.

Whether I am old enough to remember is irrelevant. I have read many stories and seen many interviews of people who were in D.C. at the time and called their wives to tell them to drive the kids to another state, or to pack and be ready to move on the next call.

[defendandprotect]

3. Oliver Stone's "JFK" is playing throughout the night on AMC TV ...

I'd highly recommend it -- don't know if they've cut any part of it --

but they are playing commercials --

[DesertFlower]

4. great movie. nt

[defendandprotect]

5. Watching it now ... actually I have the movie... but it's on DVD ...

Just noticed that when they raid the camp at Lake Pontchatrain/?

they mention NAPALM ... !!!!


Jack Ruby talking to SC Justice Earl Warren -- asking for protection in DC --

and telling them "a whole other form of government is going to take over this country" -- !!


Ruby's letter which he smuggled out of prison is also interesting --

Appears in Jim Marrs/Crossfire --


Ed Asner is terrific in this movie -- and I heard him the other day about

some documentary that's been made -- think on 9/11 -- "false flag" --

???

[DesertFlower]

6. i've seen it several times. how

about when jim meets with donald sutherland who says he was sent out of town when he should have been doing the security in texas.

[defendandprotect]

7. I've watched it many, many times -- and read the books it was based on ...

long before --

Stone brought the info togeether amazingly well -- complicated --

he did a great job --

Not that it is that complicated -- they say that the very night of the

assassiantion, the names of the plotters were being spoken at parties, etal --


High Treason I and II by Livinstone was a ground breaker --

and also think highly of Jim Marrs/Crossfire --


Did you ever see "Executive Action" which came out in early '70's ---

Burt Landcaster and Robert Ryan -- Will Greer -- ??


The Donald Sutherland appearance is based on Fletcher Prouty -- who also wrote a few

very interesting books on the subject -- Secret Team, being one --

Info Sutherland turns over goes very quickly -- you have to almost take notes to

remember it all!!


Thought Stone's NIXON was also interesting -- but so much illegality went on in that

administration you'd need three films to cover it!!


Was hoping he'd do an LBJ --

Unfortunately the guy who was doing the series of books on LBJ copped out somewhere after

the first book -- Can't think of his name at the moment -- ROBERT CARO --


Like the finale in the series The Men Who Killed Kennedy -- and the report on the Tunnheim

Panel where former Gov. John Tunnheim tells us that "OSWALD WAS EMPLOYED BY THE CIA WORKING

ON HIGH LEVEL ASSISNGMENTS AND PROBABLY ALSO FOR THE FBI" ... while the TEXT appears

below as he speaks -- twice --

those History channel documentaries were shut down by pressures from the family -- but

also by Jimmy Carter -- don't get that one -- and Gerald Ford -- do get that one!!


The MWKK finale survived to appear on YouTube -- but never saw the 1992 JFK Classfied

Records Act/John Tunnheim Panel again --

Tunnheim and the report by the panel appears in the last quarter of the documentary --

I had recorded the first 3/4's of it -- and then got distracted -- probably a neighbor

ringing the door bell and never got back to it and then the documentary was gone!

[DesertFlower]

8. i saw a documentary a few months ago where

george bush sr. was in dallas at the time. when asked where he was during the assassination he said he didn't remember. WTF? everyone remembers where they were at the time.

[defendandprotect]

22. Right, Bush and Nixon have very vague memories re where they were they were--!!

:hi:

[DesertFlower]

24. they actually had a picture of bush being

there. of course it could have been photo shopped, but saying he didn't remember made me suspicious.

i never believed the warren report.

[defendandprotect]

28. True -- and think the photo is highly believable ....

it was in background of a photo that had long been around --

until many years down the road someone noticed it looked unmistakable

like Poppy Bush -- and I agree, it does!

[snooper2]

20. How often do you watch "Conspiracy Theory"?

One of Mel's finest works right!

[BlueIris]

14. I just rewatched it.

Hadn't since 2006. It really helped me refocus my emotional...focus. And made it more painful for me to be a Democrat.

[defendandprotect]

23. A lot of stuff we can look back at now and realize you never learned in school -- !!

The Democrats who moved to investigate and stand up against the coup were

quickly targeted and moved out of Congress --

Think it will be a while before we have something like this movie re 9/11 -- !!



:hi:

[BlueIris]

30. Exactly right about how long it will take. There's one line from JFK

that has always stuck with me. It's Garrison's comment to his wife that it would take 30 to 40 years for the general public to accept the reality of governmental involvement in the assassination plot. Which is...just what happened.

That's about how long I think it will take for the truth to sink in regarding the events of 2001.

[boppers]

9. Dead aristocracy.

RIP.

[Downwinder]

18. Like Camelot.