himself or Mississippi Senator James Eastland in a key position. He also promised legislative leadership. “Why, gentlemen, do you know it’s not even a federal crime to assassinate the President of the United States or any other official of the government? That is a shame and a disgrace that we shall remedy shortly.”
He immediately ran into the same line of questioning the President had fielded at his recent primetime news conference. The issue was jurisdiction, and reporters wanted to know if Congress and the state of Texas wouldn’t be stepping all over each other to conduct what was essentially the same kind of investigation. He argued that the U.S. Congress was capable of casting a broader net with finer mesh. He implied that the Dallas Police Department might be good at investigating what happened in Dallas last Friday, but for what led up to it, for what led Oswald to do the deed — if, in fact, Oswald was the culprit — a federal investigation seemed more appropriate.
Having declared his jurisdictional intentions, Dirksen was asked whether the White House was encouraging him in his pursuit of a congressional investigation.
The senator rolled his eyes. “Any President naturally wishes Congress would roll over on its back and wave its legs in the air. The executive branch believes that to be our proper role. This administration seems no different.”
As the networks cut away from Dirksen's conference, the Kennedy team adjourned to the study. The President’s back was torturing him again, and he didn’t want to have to use crutches. Everyone packed into a space that was much smaller than was comfortable. Ethel sat outside the door to keep out interruptions.
As the men took their seats behind that closed door, Bobby shrugged: “Well?”
The first answer came from Kenny O’Donnell, who held up a yellow legal pad where had written one word: “Clusterfuck.”
After seeing the sensitivity of their situation over the last hour of conversation, everyone knew that jurisdiction was everything. It defined the winners and the losers that would need to be sorted out. It was clear that things could soon be spinning out of control, what with Dirksen making his play and that Dallas Police Chief What’s-his-name enjoying sticking it to Washington. JFK nodded his agreement: “We have to get in the game. We have to control the game.”
The single greatest asset the White House controlled on the day after Thanksgiving 1963 was what a previous occupant, Theodore Roosevelt, had called the “bully pulpit.” Americans generally wanted answers and soon on this matter of shooting at the President at high noon. But there was no consensus as to what should be done. JFK’s press conference on Tuesday had only added more fog to the confusion. The good news was that the White House was still the most legitimate entity to lead on the subject.
The question was: Lead where?
The Three Bad Options
After the review of facts and suspicions, it seemed clear to everyone in this discussion that the nation and the government were at a tipping point. While there was lots of room for improvisation within the options, there were only three basic ways to look at the big picture, none of them particularly good.
Option One: allowing the Soviets and/or Cubans to be blamed. This was deemed unacceptable because it was likely not true and, in any case, stopping nuclear war — not encouraging it — had now become the mission of the Kennedy administration.
Option Two: taking on the conspiracy directly. This could quite possibly lead to a military coup that might destroy the country and would destabilize institutions that control nuclear weapons.
Option Three: covering it all up, at least temporarily. This too was unacceptable, because it required the President and members of the administration to subvert a potential congressional investigation.
Since all the options seemed equally unattractive, the President and his trusted allies were forced
He immediately ran into the same line of questioning the President had fielded at his recent primetime news conference. The issue was jurisdiction, and reporters wanted to know if Congress and the state of Texas wouldn’t be stepping all over each other to conduct what was essentially the same kind of investigation. He argued that the U.S. Congress was capable of casting a broader net with finer mesh. He implied that the Dallas Police Department might be good at investigating what happened in Dallas last Friday, but for what led up to it, for what led Oswald to do the deed — if, in fact, Oswald was the culprit — a federal investigation seemed more appropriate.
Having declared his jurisdictional intentions, Dirksen was asked whether the White House was encouraging him in his pursuit of a congressional investigation.
The senator rolled his eyes. “Any President naturally wishes Congress would roll over on its back and wave its legs in the air. The executive branch believes that to be our proper role. This administration seems no different.”
As the networks cut away from Dirksen's conference, the Kennedy team adjourned to the study. The President’s back was torturing him again, and he didn’t want to have to use crutches. Everyone packed into a space that was much smaller than was comfortable. Ethel sat outside the door to keep out interruptions.
As the men took their seats behind that closed door, Bobby shrugged: “Well?”
The first answer came from Kenny O’Donnell, who held up a yellow legal pad where had written one word: “Clusterfuck.”
After seeing the sensitivity of their situation over the last hour of conversation, everyone knew that jurisdiction was everything. It defined the winners and the losers that would need to be sorted out. It was clear that things could soon be spinning out of control, what with Dirksen making his play and that Dallas Police Chief What’s-his-name enjoying sticking it to Washington. JFK nodded his agreement: “We have to get in the game. We have to control the game.”
The single greatest asset the White House controlled on the day after Thanksgiving 1963 was what a previous occupant, Theodore Roosevelt, had called the “bully pulpit.” Americans generally wanted answers and soon on this matter of shooting at the President at high noon. But there was no consensus as to what should be done. JFK’s press conference on Tuesday had only added more fog to the confusion. The good news was that the White House was still the most legitimate entity to lead on the subject.
The question was: Lead where?
The Three Bad Options
After the review of facts and suspicions, it seemed clear to everyone in this discussion that the nation and the government were at a tipping point. While there was lots of room for improvisation within the options, there were only three basic ways to look at the big picture, none of them particularly good.
Option One: allowing the Soviets and/or Cubans to be blamed. This was deemed unacceptable because it was likely not true and, in any case, stopping nuclear war — not encouraging it — had now become the mission of the Kennedy administration.
Option Two: taking on the conspiracy directly. This could quite possibly lead to a military coup that might destroy the country and would destabilize institutions that control nuclear weapons.
Option Three: covering it all up, at least temporarily. This too was unacceptable, because it required the President and members of the administration to subvert a potential congressional investigation.
Since all the options seemed equally unattractive, the President and his trusted allies were forced
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