31-07-2014, 10:29 PM
I go over a lot of this in my book, but the establishment Left never loved the Kennedys. Clearly, this is still true. Those who were the alleged "best and brightest" around him were noticeable for remaining silent in the midst of all the public controversy surrounding his assassination over the years.
With close "friends" like Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, JFK appears to have been surrounded by those who cared so little about him that his death never merited attention, let alone investigation. All his closest associates- Smathers, Sorensen, Charles Bartlett, O'Donnell, Powers, Lem Billings, etc. all studiously avoided the subject nearly as completely as Jackie and later Caroline would.
So his own seeming political brethren on the Left really never liked him, and obviously the Right has always hated the Kennedy family. The common people realized how special JFK was, and they still do, which is the only explanation for his enduring popularity.
With close "friends" like Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, JFK appears to have been surrounded by those who cared so little about him that his death never merited attention, let alone investigation. All his closest associates- Smathers, Sorensen, Charles Bartlett, O'Donnell, Powers, Lem Billings, etc. all studiously avoided the subject nearly as completely as Jackie and later Caroline would.
So his own seeming political brethren on the Left really never liked him, and obviously the Right has always hated the Kennedy family. The common people realized how special JFK was, and they still do, which is the only explanation for his enduring popularity.