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Saturday, June 23, 2012

THE WHITE HOUSE VI


JUNE 23, 2012

THE WHITE HOUSE VI

Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) Today we continue our report of Chapter 10 of the book by Kenneth P. O'Donnell & David F. Powers with Joe McCarthy.  It is published by Little, Brown & Company.


The title of Chapter 10 is THE WHITE HOUSE.


Kenneth O'Donnell tells us that JFK did not like to swim in the White House pool alone so he would have Dave Powers or another friend join him.


JFK swam twice a day in the pool which was heated to a temperature of 90 degrees in order to "relax & ease" the back pain he suffered.


This book, 1st published in 1970, came at a time the war in Vietnam was still being fought.  Kenny writes that while people at the time thought the war was of key importance in the Kennedy years, but, in fact, was "a minor problem."


It was minor in relationship to the Communist attempt to take over LAOS as well as the crisis in Cuba in 1961 & then again in 1962.


As far as the war in Southeast Asia, Kenny reminds us that President Kennedy led the United States through 3 difficult years "without sending a single U.S. military combat unit into action."