Sunshine Sadness

Comment as you wish.

Palm Beach, Tues. Nov. 8, 1960- 1330 EST

"Must get closer. Right on target..."

"Jack, look at that car. He's moving far too fast, move into the left lane."

"He's coming into our lane!" ****

As the Senator's car slowed, fifteen seconds later...

"Get an ambulance here right now. Tell them to take their time, because there's not much to be done."- passerby to Sen. George Smathers

"Breaking News. Senator John Kennedy and his wife were killed in a suicide attack in Palm Beach. Details are coming into the newsroom as we speak..."

- Chet Huntley, NBC, 1400 EST

"Yes, it's me. What? Someone will have to get Caroline. Bring her to Hickory Hill for the time being. When will the plane be here? I'll be there."

- Robert Kennedy to FBI Miami SAC Alex Martin

"Oh my God. Is Bobby taking care of the situation? Yes. We'll have to start planning the funeral."

- Joe Kennedy to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover

Meanwhile, in Dallas...

"LBJ SOLD OUT TO YANKEE SOCIALISTS" "JUDAS" Such were the epithets being hurled at Majority Leader and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson at the Adolphus Hotel. His aide, Bill Moyers, informed him that Senator Kennedy had been assassinated in Palm Beach, but suddenly...

"They're both dead. Direct .45 to the head."- Dallas SAC Daniel Roberts

"Breaking News. Vice-Presidential candidate Lyndon Johnson has been assassinated in downtown Dallas. The Democratic ticket is dead. Repeat, the Democratic ticket is dead..."

"DefCon 3 immediately. I want MDW on high alert."

- President Eisenhower to Defense Secretary Tom Gates

"You have to." "I have a funeral to organize, a child to adopt, and a mourning period to observe." "Bobby, if you don't, Nixon's victory will be uncontested." "My brother and sister-in-law are dead. I don't give a damn about the election right now. It might actually be better if Nixon wins. We need continuity and healing, and you'll have to nominate two names for the Democratic electors to vote for." "Is that your final answer? I have to inform the President, Vice President, and the Speaker." "You can do it, but give Adlai the top of the ticket. We need someone experienced right now, and not Hubert."

- Robert Kennedy to DNC Chair John Bailey









 
Dramatic, for sure. :eek:

Waiting for Jack Bauer to save the day! :D

Interesting premise...I'm curious to see where you're going with it.
 
Nov. 9, 1960

"If Adlai wins, then there's a very good chance Bobby will become President within eighteen months. He'll do a good job, but he's only 35 with four years in the Senate. I'm worried, very worried."

Diary of Richard Nixon

genusmap.php


(R) Richard M. Nixon/ Henry C. Lodge II: 268 ECV, 47.4%
(D) Adlai E. Stevenson/ Robert F. Kennedy: 258 ECV, 48.6%
(StR) Harry F. Byrd/ J. Strom Thurmond: 11 ECV, 5%

Incumbent President: Dwight Eisenhower (R)

"The failure to ratify was partially due to the precedent of New York and California. Obviously the brothers agreed with me, because Mass was the first to reject it."

- Richard Nixon on the failure to ratify the 22nd Amendment

Nov. 14, 1960- "I cannot stress enough the strain our system is undergoing right now. If Sparkman goes with precedent, Adlai will be elected. There's always '68, the Senate, and Sacramento."

Dec. 12, 1960- "Adlai seems OK, but Sparkman should really vote for Nixon, he's only one electoral vote shy of election."

Diary of Robert Kennedy

Jan. 6, 1961- Joint Congressional Session

"Mr. Speaker, Alabama casts its electoral votes for Governor Stevenson and Senator Kennedy."

- Sen. John Sparkman (D-AL)

STEVENSON-KENNEDY ELECTED

Jan. 15, 1961- Springfield, IL

"I don't feel that well. Might as well take a nap..."

"Get a doctor NOW!"

"It happened very quickly. Looks like cardiac arrest. He's dead."

"This is NBC Breaking News, President-elect Adlai Stevenson has died of a heart attack at age 59."

Jan. 15- 1930 EST

Jan. 18- "Get me Vice President Nixon."

KENNEDY: "How would you like to be Secretary of State?"
NIXON: "Thank you for the offer, but I would prefer to remain a loyal leader of the opposition. If you want to meet at our mutual convenience, that's perfectly fine."
KENNEDY: "All the experienced people are dead, and Hubert's out of the country."
NIXON: "Bobby, if you want my views without me, ask Dr. Kissinger. He's a very astute diplomat who could do a great job at State. I think we agree that Herter has to go."
KENNEDY: "I'll consider it."
NIXON: "Good luck and God bless."
KENNEDY: "The same to you."

Jan. 20, 1961: " I, Robert Francis Kennedy, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, so help me God."


 
He's being nice. Everyone knows RMN is the panto villain of American politics.

Or at least those of us who've watched Futurama do :D
 
Kennedy I Cabinet

Chief of Staff: John Seigenthaler
Press Secretary: Pierre Salinger
FBI Director: J. Edgar Hoover
CIA Director: John McCone
JCS Chairman: Army Gen. Maxwell Taylor


Vice President: Vacant
Secretary of the Treasury: Henry Alexander
Secretary of State: Henry Kissinger
Attorney General: Byron White
Secretary of Defense: Robert McNamara
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare: Pat Moynihan
Secretary of Labor: Archibald Cox
Secretary of the Interior: Abraham Ribicoff
Postmaster General: Larry O'Brien

"Some say why. I say why not? Why not aim to create a just America?... This Administration, here and now, pledges to put a man on the moon by the end of this decade. Let no man say it cannot be done, it will be done for we have undertaken to do it... Do not ask what America can do for you, ask what you can do for America..."

First Inaugural of President Robert F. Kennedy, 1961

"Our priorities are the economy, Vietnam, and civil rights. In that precise order."

"Mr. President, Prime Minister Macmillan on line two."

"Thank you Angie."

MACMILLAN: "I just wanted to offer condolences, and at the same time, offer sincere congratulations upon your election."
KENNEDY: "Thank you. I've sorted out what's needed, nd now to begin. Would you mind having Averell again?"
MACMILLAN: "I would be delighted."
KENNEDY: "I'll be in Europe by summer's end. Tradition demands that I visit Canada first. Not that I mind seeing Mike Pearson..."
MACMILLAN: As do I. I suppose Ike told about the problems we're having with the General?
KENNEDY: Yes. I'm going to need a translator when I visit.
MACMILLAN: Though I sympathize, what I meant was the EDC.
KENNEDY: He doesn't want French forces under foreign command. 1940 is still very vivid in his memory.
MACMILLAN: Problems in the EEC as well...

END OF CONVERSATION

"Been busy these first few weeks. What's important are the federal education bill, the housing bill, and the NS bill. None will be easy, but if I wanted something easy, I could've declined and sat poolside mourning my fate until 1962. Not an option."

Robert's diary, 26/02/61

"We need to move on the economy. Inflation's heading down, but prices aren't. Should speak to Byron about this one."

- Robert's diary, 28/02/61

"
 
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This is an unprecedented (since April 1865 anyway) crisis. There has to be some continuity. Calling someone "Mr. Vice President" is hardly BFF.
 
Imperious Impulses

"We don't need a European trip right now, Mr. President. Macmillan is entering a very delicate stage in Community membership negotiations, and de Gaulle will be more inclined to exercise his veto if you go." "Appreciate the advice, but I'm the President. Make the arrangements Mr. Kintner." "Yes Mr. President."

National Security Advisor Robert Kintner to President Kennedy

"Today, President Kennedy is meeting Prime Minister Macmillan and will then proceed to France and Germany to meet President de Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer. Topics of discussion are expected to include Soviet expansion in the Third World and trade relations."

Walter Cronkite's CBS report, Mar. 10

"European talks went swimmingly. Macmillan's really interested in the personal relationship method of diplomacy, while de Gaulle talks in analogies. Sometimes I think that the deeper meaning of his words gets lost in translation. Should've paid more attention in French classes. Adenauer was also interesting, worried about the North African situation, which de Gaulle's solving while retaining support of both the pieds-noirs and the independatists."

- Robert's diary, Mar. 18

"During 1961, the President's attention was focused on the Indochinese situation. Laos was remedied by the installation of Prince Phounna as Prime Minister, but Vietnam presented great difficulty. President Diem had won an uncontested election in 1960 with 88% of the vote, which had galled many Buddhists who protested the regime's repression of their rights. Kennedy was outraged that Diem "seemed to believe that God helps the Catholics in the ned, and that anyone who opposes him should be shot rather than any sort of democracy. He's a figure who belongs in the Dowager Empress' court." But Diem's nationalist credentials were inviolable, having been acknowledged by Ho Chi Minh himself. Kennedy decided to fly to Saigon to meet Diem and try personal diplomacy. Both Secretary Kissinger and NSC Chairman Kintner thought this "impulsive folly", as Kissinger fumed to his deputy George Ball."

Robert Kennedy: Study in Secrecy, Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2007

"Diem was unprepared for the barrage of questions I had for him. How many strategic hamlets? Reforms of the hopelessly corrupt ARVN recruiting system appeared dead? Brother and sister-in-law out of control with the secret police. This was no way to gain support, but amazingly he managed to hold the Saigonese and the Mekong Delta peasants together under his leadership."

- Robert's diary, Apr. 5

"If any of you talk that way to me, you know the consequences. Ironically, he's proven why I shouldn't delegate authority."

President Diem to his staff

"Now I have to go meet Nehru."

-Robert's diary, Apr. 10

"I'm interested in improving Indo-US relations. But not before the next PM comes into office will there be economic progress. I've never met such a doctrinaire socialist in my life. Perhaps Desai will be his successor. N's bio should read: A Study in Victimology."

- Robert's diary, Apr. 16

"What? Both of them? Cause?" "Apparently the plane just exploded in midair Sir. Both your brother and your sister-in-law are dead. Looks like the Chinese."

VNAF officer to President Diem, May 2

TO BE CONTINUED...
 
Actually they were close personal friends, who were tennis partners and frequented Hickory Hill. IOTL, in 1968, LBJ's handling of McNamara's departure was a not-so-subtle reminder to Bobby that no holds would be barred in the upcoming contest. RFK was upset that McNamara didn't see it that way, but McNamara left LBJ's way in the end.
 
Death of Dependability

On May 15, President Kennedy was informed of the plans for so-called "Freedom Rides" throughout the South. He was aghast at the idea of provoking Southerners any more after the election violence that had claimed the 1960 Democratic ticket. However, the President was committed to the demonstrators' legal right to interstate travel, and he called Alabama Attorney General Richmond Flowers.

W. H. TAPES 15/05/61

KENNEDY: Will the state allow these people free passage without the risk of violence? Sending federal marshals into Alabama is not in our mutual interest.
FLOWERS: Mr. President, these people are not just taking a tour of our state or the South. They have an expressed political motive which no one, including their leaders, have denied. I can say that if federal marshals come into our state, there'll be blood in the streets. Like Reconstruction resurrected.
KENNEDY: Regardless of intentions, they still have a right to unmolested interstate travel.
FLOWERS: If they travel on back roads, make no speeches, and do nothing but be passengers, I'd be willing to guarantee their safety in the state. Once they cross into Mississippi, they're on their own.
KENNEDY: Agreed. Thank you.
END OF TAPE

FREEDOM RIDES TO PROCEED, PRES "OPTIMISTIC" OF SUCCESS

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson was preparing for his first summit meeting with the new President. The trip was scheduled for May 25-27.

"We scheduled that time just as an introductory session. If the voters rewarded us sufficiently, an FTA could become viable. In the meantime, I sought to discuss the Bomarc issue, because Secretary McNamara and I had come to the conclusion that the program was ineffective and must be cancelled."

Recollections: The White House, Robert Kennedy, 1978

Birmingham, May 24- Abenezer Baptist Church, 2044 EDT

"We need collective action. A march on Montgomery across the Pettus Bridge. Perhaps the children..."

ABENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH, NAACP HQ, BOMBED- KING, ABERNATHY, EVERS BROS DEAD, 14 INJURED

"This is a great tragedy, and now there's no responsible black leaders left. If Malcolm X is the only one, this will not end well."

Robert's diary, May 25

President Kennedy upon learning of the Birmingham Massacre, May 25

Credit: Study in Secrecy by Doris Kearns Goodwin.



President Kennedy decided to continue with Pearson's visit, and the Canadian Prime Minister was effusive upon his arrival. The agenda was mostly introductory, and Kennedy would find in Pearson a reliable ally with long diplomatic experience. This would serve them both well in years to come.

In London, Prime Minister Macmillan was meeting with his Foreign Secretary, *Sir Francis Blake, on the prospect of EEC entry. Blake was perhaps the most articulate of the Euroskeptics in the Tory Cabinet, though not its leader. He had repeatedly told the Prime Minister of his preference for a free-trade agreement with the Community instead, and warned that "the choice is between the Commonwealth or the Community. We can't have both." Complicating the decision was the "special relationship" factor. Both Kennedy and Kissinger were sceptical about the idea of EEC entry, and as Kissinger later said: "Some in the Department were advocating entry without considering the consequences." Macmillan knew the key was negotiating with de Gaulle in order to secure his abstention. But the French President had no intention of compromising in the least. The General, ironically, shared the same views as the Foreign Secretary. Britain must choose between Europe and the US/Commonwealth relationship. De Gaulle believed that in a crunch, the UK would choose the latter, so he saw no reason to allow entry.

SAIGON- Secretaries McNamara and Kissinger felt that Diem might change his modus operandi after the death of his brother and sister-in-law. At least, the land reform was proceeding on schedule. But the President was distrustful of most of his advisors, especially the ones who insisted on democratic, meritocratic reforms. Such talk was anathema to Diem's mandarin mentality. Two officers whom he distrusted the most were Maj. Gens. Thieu and Ky, the commanders of I Corps and Air Force Northern Command respectively. The military had been substantially improved with the influx of modern equipment from the U.S., such as Skyhawks, Patton tanks and civilian advisors. President Kennedy refused to expand the advisory force in Vietnam, due to fears of it turning into a quagmire.

BETANCOURT ASSASSINATED, DOMINICANS SUSPECTED

- Caracas, Sept. 1

President Romulo Betancourt was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his limousine in downtown Caracas, killing the President, the First Lady, and six security officers instantly. Venezuelan authorities suspect the involvement of Dominican agents in the assassination, following an attempt by Gen. Trujillo's agents in 1959.

"Trujillo has to go. But we can't seem to find much support for this."

Robert's diary, Sept. 2

MACMILLAN DEAD OF HEART ATTACK AT 64, BLAKE NEW PM

What many didn't realize was that the 44 year old Foreign Secretary had been expected to be Prime Minister with the assistance of his fellow Great Officers, Butler, Hailsham and Home. They badly underestimated the Canadian expat who'd apprenticed under Mackenzie King...

TO BE CONTINUED...
 
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So what do you think of this TL so far? Yes Blake is a fictional character, but there will soon be very important policy decisions made in London...
 
This TL has been permanently shuttered. You will be shortly redirected to my new TL Civvus Romanus Sum (Preview ETA Winter 2010)
 
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