Oliver Stone calls "JFK & The Unspeakable" "the best account I have read"

[Charles Drago]

Interesting Charlie. I never considered the death of Patrick to be a factor in JFK's political evolution and therefore the '63 coup. Will you elaborate on that? Is there a book that discusses this aspect or did it only come out in discussions? What is this theory based on?

And to clarify, are you saying that Douglass' evaluation is inaccurate or merely incomplete?

Myra,

I don't know of a book in which the impact of Patrick's death on the Jack/Jackie relationship is directly evaluated in terms of a spiritual reawakening with dramatic political consequences. But there are ample references in mainstream JFK bios that discuss public evidence of a subsequent deepening of the marriage; Richard Reeves' book comes immediately to mind.

This "theory" is based upon observations; the increasing closeness of the First Couple, their PDA, etc.

Also, the timing is interesting insofar as JFK's efforts to step back from the brink and otherwise reject the Cold War paradigm seem to have been stepped up -- and we're on weak ground here due to the largely still-suppressed documentary record -- after Patrick's passing.

As for the Chicago plot: Douglass accepts this deep political operation on its most superficial level, when in fact there are additional, fascinating, and compelling evaluations of what was going on with Vallee and the alleged hit team.

My own take: Chicago was designed to resemble the Dallas situation in order to quash rumors of an assassination conspiracy with the general outlines of what actually took place.

Think about it: A lone nut patsy with a military background and Leftist tendencies/Communist sympathies who will fire at JFK from an office building in a major downtown area as a pro hit team does the real wet work ... The system was awash in rumors concerning this scenario.

Then "the" plot is foiled in Chicago, the hit team is "on the run," the "patsy" is off the board, and everyone can relax.

Note how JFK, just before he was murdered, spoke of a problem that the Secret Service had "taken care of."

The Chicago/Dallas mirror image also conforms to the multiple uses of doppelgangers throughout the JFK drama.

Can I prove any of this? No.

Do I indict Douglass for not thinking of and exploring it? No.

But I respectfully award a demerit to him for failing to apply deep political analysis to what is clearly a deep political construct.

Hope this helps.