AT IMDB.COM, "SEAVER41" SAID:
I just found one total lie [in Vincent Bugliosi's 2007 book, "Reclaiming History"]: He's going over Kennedy's morning, only a couple hours before he's killed and Kennedy mutters in his hotel room "it would be so easy for someone to kill a president. A high powered rifle from a high building..."
[...]
I'm not sure how Bugliosi knows Kennedy would have said that, but either way, he didn't -- in 'JFK: 3 days that changed America' [sic] (which just came out on DVD), the guy Kennedy said that to says he said it on a plane a couple months earlier to him.
So clearly either Bugliosi made it up there or just figured it was a good spot for him to say it for dramatic purposes, which makes me question everything he's writing, which I can't stand because I've always liked Bugliosi.
DAVID VON PEIN SAID:
"JFK: 3 SHOTS THAT CHANGED AMERICA" (not "3 Days..." as mentioned by "Seaver41" above) is a three-hour documentary that consists of nothing but archived TV and film footage from November 1963 only.
It's a very good program, which in a large sense mirrors my own collection of "as it happened" JFK material. I sure don't recall Kenneth O'Donnell being part of the live November '63 footage, however. It's possible he appeared on camera on November 24 or 25, but I don't recall it at the moment.
The only times I've ever heard that story recounted, it's always been a quote that was being spoken by Kennedy (to O'Donnell) on the day of the assassination itself--November 22.
I'll also add this:
In addition to Ken O'Donnell's Warren Commission testimony [at 7 H 456], which is the sole citation used by Vincent Bugliosi for the remarks allegedly made by President Kennedy about assassination on 11/22/63, there is also a similar reference in Jim Bishop's 1968 book "The Day Kennedy Was Shot".
According to Bishop, JFK made the statement in question concerning assassination (or one very close to it) while the President was sitting in his hotel room in Fort Worth between the hours of 7:00 and 8:00 AM (CST) on November 22, 1963, which would be about three hours earlier than the O'Donnell/Bugliosi timeframe for this statement. Quoting from Bishop's book:
"The room was now quiet for a moment. Mrs. Kennedy returned to her bedroom as the waiter, George Jackson, wheeled in a second table with scrambled eggs and crisp bacon for her. Mr. Kennedy sat sipping coffee. Then, glancing at Kenny O'Donnell, he murmured: "Anyone perched above the crowd with a rifle could do it." " -- Page 29 of "The Day Kennedy Was Shot" [1983 hardcover edition]
ADDENDUM:
I could be wrong about this, but I'm just wondering if Seaver41 could possibly be mixing up his conversations that he heard during the "3 Shots" documentary.
There is some live network footage from 11/22/63 where a news reporter talks about being on a plane with Lyndon Johnson during the 1960 Presidential campaign. The conversation between the newsman and LBJ was about whether or not Johnson would run as Vice President during the campaign.
Nothing was discussed about assassination, though, so maybe I'm wrong. But when Seaver41 mentioned "plane", I recalled that commentary made by a newsman (which is footage that is likely part of the "3 Shots" program).
BTW, Tom Terrific [Tom Seaver] was one of my favorite ballplayers (mainly because he played for my Cincinnati Reds from 1977 to 1982). ;)
Watch Seaver pitch his only career no-hitter here.
David Von Pein
February 17, 2010
