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Let Us Continue: After Camelot
A Timeline in a Week by Statesman



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"There has been an attempt," Walter Cronkite began, "As perhaps you know now, on the life of President Kennedy. He was wounded in an automobile driving from Dallas Airport into Downtown Dallas, along with Governor William Blakley of Texas. They have been taken to Parkland Hospital there, where their condition is as of yet: unknown - we have not been told their condition. At Dallas, in the Downtown Hotel Room, a group had been gathered to hear President Kennedy, awaiting his arrival. Let's switch down there right now, where Eddie Barker of KRLD is on the air."

"As you can imagine," Eddie Bircher began, as the TV switched to showing the room in Dallas that President Kennedy had been set to speak in, "There are many stories that are coming in now as to the actual condition of the President. One is that he is dead; this cannot be confirmed. On is that Governor Blakley is in the operating room - this we have not confirmed. The President was whisked from the scene of the attempted assassination, or the assassination, depending upon his condition, of course, at this hour, by bus to, uh, Parkland Hospital. And, uh, the President, undoubtedly, is in the emergency room at that hospital, which would be on the first floor of, uh, Parkland. No word is yet - we are awaiting something more official. It is, of course, difficult, certainly, to go on scanty reports."

The voice switched again, "This is Walter Cronkite, back at the CBS Newsroom in New York, we have just been advised from Dallas that blood transfusions are being given to President Kennedy. Let us recall for you now what has transpired in this -"

Cronkite was cut off as he looked off to his right, "KRLD is reporting," a voice off screen told him, "They've been told by somebody in the hospital that the President is dead, only a rumor, but they've been told that. KRLD has."

"Well," Cronkite addressed his audience again, "That's a repeat of something you've heard reported to you directly a moment ago from KRLD, a television in Dallas, and that is the rumor that has reached them, uh, at the hotel, that the President is dead. Totally unconfirmed, apparently as of yet."

[...]

"We have just learned, however, that Father Hubert, one of the two priests called into the room, has administered the Last Sacrament of the Church to President Kennedy. Regarding the probable assassin, the Sheriff's officers have taken a young man into custody at the scene. A man 25 years old, we are reporting."

"We just have a report from our correspondent Dan Rather in Dallas that he has confirmed," Cronkite said, taking off his glasses, "That President Kennedy is dead. There is still no official confirmation of this, however, it's a report from our correspondent Dan Rather, in Dallas, Texas."

[...]

Walter Cronkite put his glasses back on, "From Dallas, Texas, the flash apparently official, President Kennedy died at one P.M. Central Standard Time. Two o'clock, Eastern Standard Time, some thirty-eight minutes ago." There was a long pause before he continued, "Vice President John Connally has left the hospital in Dallas, presumably he will be taking the Oath of Office shortly and become the 36th President of the United States, though we do not know to where, specifically, he has proceeded..."

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Okay, Statesman. What's going on??

I'm so glad you asked.

So what's going on? LBJ was Kennedy's Vice President, not John Connally.

ITTL, LBJ dies in 1955 from a heart attack. John Connally succeeds him in the Senate. That is the POD, but not much changes up until now (except that Connally is picked as VP for Kennedy).

Butterfly Net Much?

Well, sort of. But that's not the point of the TL.

Well what is?

This TL is just meant to be a look at what a President Connally might have done in place of a President LBJ. They were both friends and prominent Texas politicians of the era.

Um...

Do you have anything else to ask us?

Is that all you're going to tell us right now?

I mean, I've already told you what the premise of this TL is already. I don't want to give away too much of what there is to come. Special thanks to Gonzo for helping me in the early development stages of this project.

Fair enough, I guess.

Let's get on to it, then, shall we?

Alright!
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