Any merit to Simkins "suite 8F" theory ?

[Marlene Zenker]

I believe it is a fundamental distinction.

Unless you think the Irish Mob came to Supreme Power when Joe Kennedy's brat became POTUS.

Jan, I don't understand your point. There has never been any faction within the System that has held Supreme Power. There has never been a "Mr. Big" or one group permanently dominating all the others. It is a loosely-affiliated network of elite groups and families. Like warlords in feudal Japan, sometimes they cooperate, sometimes they fight with each other.

I don't think any of us here are naive enough to believe that the Kennedy brothers were Boy Scouts who never told a lie or did anything wrong. Their old man was not a nice guy, and they were raised within the elite circles. Jack and Bobby matured and grew as the years went by, their eyes were opened, and they gradually became "class traitors." Ted learned to play the game and stayed alive.

I think the most significant quality of Jack and Bobby was that they were willing to listen and to learn. They were not so egotistical as to think that they knew everything and were right about everything. That quality is hard enough to find in us regular people let alone political leaders.