The Kennedy family appears to have made it a policy never to
publically comment on this topic. Undoubtedly, Robert Kennedy as
Attorney General, then US Senator and his brother Ted were best
situated to make inqueries when it was still fresh and they held
power. What ever they concluded, RFK pursued the presidency in 1968
assuming it was not unsafe and Ted Kennedy did so in 1980.
Robert F. Kennedy had been Attorney General. He had clashed with and
was known to hate J. Edgar Hoover and VP Lyndon Johnson. Although no
known opinion exists for the public record as to RFK's thoughts, his
hostility toward Hoover and LBJ after he became a US Sen. from NY in
1964, became so obsessive, he became more bold as a critic of both men
as public figures. His run for president in 1968 was known to be
upsetting to both Hoover and LBJ who feared he could win. Also, RFK
experienced such morbid depression after JFK's death, some speculate
that he felt responsible. The Kennedy admin. had organized covert
action teams that were to be used for global challenges from Castro to
Vietnam. RFK is thought to have concluded that one such team was
deployed against his brother.
Jackie Kennedy, once married to Onassis, used his $$ and connections
to make family inqueries. She subsequently became more reclusive and
protective of her children. She was said to have a morbid dread of
RFK's 1968 campaign.
LBJ, once in office, made a concerted effort to oust any Kennedy
staffer as soon as possible. LBJ took every opportunity to tell those
sympathetic to the family that they were running a "Murder Inc.".
Every book written by JFK's inner circle includes an inexplicable
reference to "Herbert Hoover" which then allowed the author to
reference "Hoover" in vague but damning ways. Close friends and former
staff have collectively never talked about 1963. House Speaker Tip
O'Neil has a brief story in his memoir regarding a blizzard in Boston
that shut down the city in the 1980's. He took refuge in a chowder
house that was still open and discovered two former JFK aides sitting
together. Having never been close to them, he found them willing to
talk about the event in surprising detail. He dismissed the talk
because both were alcoholic by then.
The Senate Assassination Committee which investigated the murders of
JFK, RFK and M.L.King in 1978 was headed by a former Justice dept.
asst. of RFK's. Much of that report was watered down in order to get
it throught Congress.
No known reference exists about Sen. Ted Kennedy's views. His
criticisms of the Vietnam War stepped up after Nixon became President.
After RFK's death his personal conduct disintegrated. The extended
family began to experience more trouble after 1968, suggesting a loss
of hopefulness.
The family today has a noticeable lack of enthusiasm for public office. |
