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The Bulletin -- October 14, 2009 (#1012) Program: Wallace Westfeldt – The Kennedys, At Arms Length
Westfeldt opened his remarks by stating he knew of the Kennedys, but not as intimately as Judith Exnor, Marilyn Monroe, or the Kennedy wives -- Jackie, Joan or Ethel. Westfeldt said that Jack Kennedy’s assassination obscured most of what he accomplished during his presidency. Kennedy once said he liked politics, because it was the way a president got things done. He closed 17 interdepartmental agencies saving taxpayers $800,000, and in his first 60 days in office, Kennedy sent numerous draft bills and messages to Congress, communicated with eight foreign leaders, made 12 public speeches, and helped his staff answer more than 50,000 letters that arrived each week. He once said, “Under our system of government, the president is everything or he is nothing.” Westfeldt said that Kennedy liked the Washington reporting staff and would spend time with them even as he secretly sent 20,000 troops to South Vietnam, which ended in a lengthy war that eventually led to the downfall of two other presidents – Johnson and Nixon. Robert Kennedy was different that his older brother. As Attorney General under his brother, “Bobby” set his sights on Jimmy Hoffa. After Hoffa was indicted by a grand jury, Westfeldt said he covered the trial in Chattanooga, Tenn. Westfeldt said that he had been informed by Kennedy’s assistant, John Seigenthaler, that an important witness would testify. It was a local Teamster’s union leader. After Hoffa was convicted, Westfeldt was asked to speak with Kennedy by telephone. When asked for Hoffa’s reaction after the verdict, Kennedy was told that he turned ashen and gritted his teeth. “Kennedy, in that whispery voice, said ‘That’s just what I wanted to hear.’” Westfeldt met Bobby Kennedy in the Plaza Hotel (New York City) a couple of years later. Kennedy told him that he was going to run for the U.S. Senate in New York state. Westfeldt said he called him a rich carpetbagger and that his plan was disgraceful. Kennedy won that election on his way to his run for the presidency, which ended with his own assassination. Edward “Ted” Kennedy could (would) have become president, Westfeldt said, “…had he kept his zipper up and his hands off the bottle.” Westfeldt said the Kennedy became one of the most powerful senators in history. “He became powerful because he mastered the legislative system,” said Westfeldt. Westfeldt said Kennedy worked very easily with Republicans as well as very conservatives Democrats from the South and specialized in health care reform. In the last election, Kennedy gave his support to Barrack Obama only after Obama promised to make reform of health care his first major legislative goal if elected president. Westfeldt said he met Ted Kennedy only once prior to an interview with NBC’s John Chancellor, and he found him to be very accessible and a very nice guy. Westfeldt said that he doesn’t expect any of the younger Kennedy clan to go into politics. He did say that if Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg lived in Massachusetts she probably would have a good chance of getting elected to the U.S. Senate. THIS WEEK: Visiting Rotarians: Connie Fisher (Sunrise Club) Guests: Leigh Mundy (Bob Parks); Courtney Chandler (Brain Hammond); Kathleen Garenani (Mary Anne Bukolt-Ryder); Jennifer Meshinelli (Vicki Marking). Membership Committee Report:
District Conference:
Next Board Meeting:
International Convention Committee:
Food Shelf Report:
Fines:
Bonnie’s Bucks:
50/50: The Pot has risen to $725 and we’re looking for the Two of Hearts. Kerry Haley picked the Five of Spades. TRIVIA
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