Presidential Homes Not Immune from Great Recession

Here is a great article from Forbes and MSN about a recent evaluation of famous presidential pads. Special focus is given to the Obama residence in Chicago, the Kennedy compound on Cape Cod and Harry S. Truman's home, among others. It appears that the Great Recession that has been hitting real estate markets hard has also lowered the worth of the private homes of current and past presidents. Don't feel too badly for them though, something tells me Obama and the Kennedy's won't have to worry about keeping their homes.

[Image via lise2cc]

Sam Kashner on The Death of a President Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

Here's an interesting article on the publication history of William Manchester's The Death of a President. At first, the Kennedy family commissioned the book to be the definitive history of the assassination, and then Jackie changed her mind. Curiously, the family that once encouraged the project then made every attempt to stop it.

Sam Kashner on The Death of a President Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

[Image via cocoposts]

Strange Bedfellows - Kevin Costner and JFK Assassination Conspiracy Theories

Yesterday I was thinking about the Kennedy assassination and the ways it has been dealt with in popular culture. It occurred to me that Kevin Costner has mentioned the JFK assassination in two different films. In 1988’s Bull Durham, Kevin Costner’s character gives a speech about things he believes in. At one point in the speech he says, “I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.”

In 1991, Kevin Costner starred in Oliver Stone’s JFK as New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison, a man who became obsessed with discrediting the Warren Commission’s findings. The first time I watched this movie it was hard for me to get past Kevin Costner’s strange attempts at a Southern/Cajun/God knows what kind of accent. The movie also throws a lot of information at the viewer about the assassination and the events that followed. That, along with recreated footage made to look like documentary footage from the assassination, can make the film confusing and worthy of a second viewing. Keeping that in mind, Kevin Costner plays a man who does not believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone (unlike his Bull Durham character). Take a look at one of the tense courtroom scenes from JFK in which Jim Garrison attempts to discredit the “magic bullet” theory and other findings of the Warren Commission.

What does Kevin Costner believe happened? Does anyone care? Is Kevin Costner obsessed with this topic? Will he ever try a southern accent again? Will he ever live down Waterworld? I can’t say. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer to Oliver Stone’s 1991 epic JFK.

[Images via Interview]

The Death of a President- JFK Assassinated

Today in 1963, President John F. Kennedy traveled to Dallas to campaign for re-election. He was riding through the streets of Dallas in an open car with his wife Jacqueline, Governor Connelly of Texas and the governor’s wife. While approaching the Texas Book Depository building and the waving crowds, the governor’s wife Nellie turned to President Kennedy and said, “Mr. President, you can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you.” As the president acknowledged Mrs. Connelly, the limousine pulled past the Book Depository and shots were fired.

Witnesses claimed they heard three shots, but when pressed later to say where the shots were fired from; there were many different accounts. With this discrepancy among witnesses, a thousand conspiracy theories were born. The Warren Commission, which was formed to determine the person/persons responsible for the assassination, stated that President Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. The commission also believed that Oswald acted alone. One of the major pieces of evidence used by the Warren Commission to examine the assassination was an amateur home movie taken by Abraham Zapruder. Here is a clip of the movie, but please note that it shows the assassination and is extremely graphic.

Some of the records from the Warren Commission were sealed after the investigation, leading many conspiracy theorists to believe that there was a cover-up at work. Due to public pressure, Congress passed the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which stated that all assassination related records should be housed at the National Archives. Feel free to search the online collection at the National Archive site.

When many people talk about the Kennedy assassination, they often talk about where they were when they heard the news and their own horror at seeing images of a president being gunned down. Others remember the seemingly impossible site of Mrs. Kennedy standing next to Lyndon Johnson as he took his oath of office while still wearing the pink suit covered in her husband’s blood. In addition to sensory reactions to that day in our history, many grieve for what might have been. Namely, many question whether Kennedy would have led the country as swiftly into the Vietnam War as the Johnson administration did. Whether or not there is any merit to these claims, November 22^nd will continue to be a sad day in our nation’s history.

On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was scheduled to deliver what is now known as his Trade Mart speech. Here is a quotation from his speech that went undelivered:

The United States is a peaceful nation. And where our strength and determination are clear, our words need merely to convey conviction, not belligerence. If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help.

[Images via Cache and upi]

"I have to worry because I could be defeated" - President Kennedy on the 1960 Presidential Election

Tonight on NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams introduced a never before heard audio clip of President Kennedy in the oval office discussing a possible coup in Vietnam just as United States involvement in the war was escalating. I wasn’t able to find that clip to share, but I did find another Kennedy clip which is more appropriate to share on the eve of elections across the country. On January 5, 1960, then Senator Kennedy and his wife attended a dinner party at the home of friends. After dinner, the host pulled out a tape recorder and asked Kennedy if they could talk about his entry into politics, his own feelings about the 1960 presidential election, and his health. As a result, we have this gem of a recording, which shows Kennedy as a vulnerable candidate unsure of his chances in the presidential election. He even worries how he will start over at the age of 45 should he lose (granted he had a trust fund, but everyone still needs a purpose). Enjoy this audio clip! If you listen closely, you can even hear Kennedy clip his cigar.

Happy almost election day everyone! Get out and vote!

[Image via Independent]

The Life You Save May Be Your Own – President Kennedy announces an air and naval blockade of Cuba

On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island. On the 22^nd, President Kennedy updated the country on what was later termed the Cuban Missile Crisis. Listen to his address to the American people here courtesy of the Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Here is a newsreel of the address:

Notice he doesn’t pull any punches in letting the American people know the extent of the danger of the situation. The Cuban Missile Crisis stemmed from September of 1962 when the Soviet Union and Cuba placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. When American surveillance became aware of the arms build up in Cuba, it did everything it could to insure their removal. The crisis was one of the tensest moments in the Cold War which almost led from a war of unveiled threats to nuclear war. On October 28^th, the crisis finally came to a close when President Kennedy and the United Nations Secretary-General reached an agreement with the Soviets to dismantle the missiles in exchange for a no-invasion agreement.

What’s fascinating about this crisis is how close the United States came to being the target of nuclear weapons. Less than two decades after the United States commissioned the Manhattan Project to build nuclear bombs for use in the Second World War, the United States almost became a victim of its own technology. According to Robert McNamara in the Fog of War documentary, it was only “luck” which prevented the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating into war. Watch a clip of Fog of War in which McNamara discusses the dangers of combining nuclear weapons controlled by human beings with human infallibility. It’s also interesting to note the McNamara says when he encountered Castro in 1992, Castro revealed that he urged Khrushchev to use nuclear weapons against the United States during the crisis even if it decimated Cuba in the process.

[Image via Wikimedia]

Anniversary of the Warren Commission Report

On September 27, 1964 the Warren Commission concluded that there was no conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy, and that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The Commission consisted of Earl Warren, Richard Russel, Jr., John Sherman Cooper, Hale Boggs, Gerald Ford, Allen Welsh Dulles and John J. McCloy. The Commission’s findings have been thought of as controversial ever since they were made available to the public three days after they were presented to President Johnson on the 24^th. Many still believe that President Kennedy was killed as a result of a conspiracy and by more than one shooter (ie the shooters on the grassy knoll theory). In his posthumous memoir, Teddy Kennedy stated that he accepted the findings of the Warren Commission, but his brother Robert was notably cynical about the commission’s findings for the remainder of his life.

For a pop culture investigation into the Warren Commission’s findings, check out Oliver Stone’s JFK. This film follows New Orleans’ District Attorney Jim Garrison’s investigation into the assassination, which reveals an elaborate conspiracy. For any conspiracy nuts out there, even if your strain of conspiracy isn’t specific to the Kennedy assassination, you may want to check out this film. I’ve heard that Stone footnoted the screenplay to emphasize that his claims could be supported by facts, but I’ve never seen a copy of it. Has anyone heard of this?

[Image via PBS]

“I wish I could give you a lot of advice, based on my experience of winning political debates. But I don’t have that experience." - Richard Nixon

On September 24, 1960, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy took part in the first televised presidential debate. The two candidates appeared in front of an estimated audience of 60 million viewers for the first of four debates. The candidates took different approaches to their debate preparation. Kennedy rested beforehand and allowed the television crew to apply make- up to his skin before taping. This allowed him to appear relaxed and tan. Nixon, on the other hand, did not rest much before the taping. He had also been ill shortly before the debate, so he appeared underweight, pale and uncomfortable. In a storied political flub, Nixon did not wear any make up for the cameras before the debate. This made him appear pale and tired when standing beside a composed Kennedy. Those who listened to the debate on the radio believed Nixon to be the winner. Those who watched it on television thought the winner to be Kennedy. This speaks to the power of the televised image that would be cultivated by every other presidential candidate since the 1960 election. Nixon would wear make-up for the next three televised debates, but by then, fewer people were watching. Here is their first debate in two parts courtesy of www.archive.org.






[Image via smh.com.au]

Going to the Chapel – 56th Anniversary of Kennedy Wedding

Today marks the 56th wedding anniversary of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. The two were married at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Newport, RI. Here is a link to the JFK Presidential Library’s description of the ceremony and lavish reception.

Here is a newsreel of the event showing notable guests and a brief glimpse of the newly wedded Kennedys emerging from the church.

[Image via jacquelinekennedy.net]