Intimate pictures hidden for 40 years capture the innocence of the Kennedy era

[tekisui]

What a wonderful era of hope it seemed to be. When Jack Kennedy, with his glamorous wife Jackie as First Lady, was elected President of the United States in November 1960, an entirely new feeling of elation and idealism was brought to the drab post-war world.

The 48-year-old Kennedy exuded masculine confidence and - for the first time in a modern head of state - real sex appeal.

Hundreds of pictures were taken at the shoot in January 1961, but have been locked away in a vault until now. These are some of the unused ones







However, there was a grim shadow behind the smiles. On the same day as the photo-shoot, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Castro's Cuba, which had been growing closer to the Soviet Union and importing Russian arms.

Even as the president was photographed with his three-year-old daughter in her frilly white princess frock, he was dictating memos to his secretary about the increasingly fraught international situation.

It was the cool professionalism of a man who ushered in a new era of "personality politics" in which - as these pictures show - a leader's image was every bit as slicklymanaged as his message

more pics at link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=495080&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490

[rug]

1. Such innocence . . . three months before the Bay of Pigs.

[ladjf]

2. I don't understand your comment.

[rug]

8. There was nothing innocent about the Kennedy Administration.

The pictures notwithstanding, JFK was a cold warrior, more able than most. He had the ability to cancel the Bay of Pigs invasion but did not, setting up one of the longer-lasting dramas of the cold war that is still here 46 years later. There was a more productive path to take. He did not.

[peacetalksforall]

11. Read a little more - the CIA sold him a 'bill of goods' as we say. They

told him the invasion would be supported by the people of Cuba - that the people would rise up and demand a regime change. Just like Iraq. It was also like Iraq in that the CIA believed their sources. (Of course, it's questionable whether the U.S. believed Chalabi or just used him). Remember, the plan to invade Cuba was born during the Eisenhower Admin - Kennedy inherited it.

The Bay of Pigs was a betrayal of intelligence. They say he figured out the betrayal after the fact and would not let them repeat it. Thus the intense hate by Cuban Americans - nearly five decades of intense hate - hate for him and for the Democrats.

From there on out, each group (CIA <and> Cuban American agents, operatives, and population used each other). And a grand bunch of terrorists worked within and outside of the CIA for four plus decades.

There is no denying the adoration of the little people all over the world for Kennedy. I remember seeing photos of his portrait hanging in the humblest of housing - including yurts.

No saint there - just someone who could inspire and lead.

[zeemike]

14. And I might add to that

What really pissed of the CIA and the Cuban invaders was the fact that Kennedy refused to use the military to provide air support when the invasion was failing.
Instead of digging himself deeper into the hole he backed off and let it fail. Another profile in courage in my mind.

[rug]

19. Swapping Turkish bases for Cuban bases was heroic.

[zeemike]

20. Kennedy had noting to do with Cuba aligning itself with the USSR

That all took place during the Eisenhower administration when Castro came to the US seeking support and was humiliated by the state department.
Cuba could have been a friend of the us had it not been for the fact that the American Corporations and the Mafia had actually owned the entire country and exploited it greatly.
And this was the dawn of the military industrial complex and the CIA was exIf Kennedy made a mistake it was not taking Eisenhower's warning about the MIC seriously, or he did not understand just how much power they really had.

[rug]

21. He had the ability to reverse course.

[peacetalksforall]

27. He did reverse courses - on Cuba and Vietnam. And was taken out.

[cgrindley]

32. Dear God, NO NO NO

all you have to do is type Kennedy and they crawl out of the woodwork with the conspiracy theories. For the last time (I know it's not the last time, but a man can hope)...

Kennedy
was
shot
by
that
sad
loner


PERIOD

[OzarkDem]

37. No, there's a lot of documentation

to support that theory. RFK himself believed it. He launched his own investigation of his brother's death within hours of getting the news, using trusted friends. The first place he called was the CIA and asked them if any of their people or connections in the Cuban community did it.

He knew right where to look from the beginning. He had served as the go-between.

[peacetalksforall]

41. As I smile at your post, I must ask - who crawls out?

[Alexander]

45. You sure do like sticking your fingers in your ears.

Whatever. Some of us like to be informed.

[peacetalksforall]

23. That was after the missile stand-off - it saved lives. I thought we were on the Bay of Pigs.

[rug]

47. Bay of Pigs led to the missiles led to the Embargo led to the Crisis led to the swap.

Not so hard.

[rug]

18. That misses the point.

Other than buying wrong intelligence - no virtue - the invasion of Cuba made no sense except in a cold war context. Rather than falling into the bipolar dichotomy that existed then, Kennedy had an opportunity to deal with Cuba as a neighbor rather than an enemy. Cuba on its own was no threat. A better statesman could have dealt with Cuba without invoking the specter of nuclear war.

[peacetalksforall]

24. I believe the decision to not establish diplomatic relations with Cuba after

the Revolution took place in 1959. That led to the support from the USSR. Kennedy came in in 1960. He inherited some issues and agreed to go along with the pre-existing plans.

(Edited to add that zeemike already said this - I read out of sequence.)

[OzarkDem]

39. Invading Cuba was the first step

that the Cold Warriors wanted to take in controlling all governments in Latin and South America.

Cuba resisted, but they carried it out elsewhere from El Salvador to Panama, etc., etc., etc.

[peacetalksforall]

42. Exactly - and it continues - Boliva hot hot hot, Venezuela, Cuba.

We have established military bases in Paraguay in preparation for a move against Bolivia and to build protection for the future refuge of Cheney and Bush.

As to the re-takeover of Bolivia - we don't have enough soldiers for now and they are trying all kinds of citizen propaganda - straight out of the Embassy and the headquarters of the operatives. Next, we'll hear that Blackwater has a camp/training ground/experimental lab in Paraguay.

I just hope that Chile stays cool - and non-responsive to hit men and our military/state department/cia. Hopefully 'she' will lead for her people, not us.

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. Do you ever get the impression that there was a faction in the CIA who

hated the US? What could it be, but hatred, if you knowingly get involved with the black market to raise money for illegal ops operations?

[peacetalksforall]

26. I think the faction in the CIA are people picked to advance the political

agenda over the world - the origin lies with the barons. The plan came into existence with the industrial revolution, plus the profit assassment after the wars. Then certain think tanks set out to figure out how it, the baron plan, could be accomplished.

And they had no problem finding people like Casey - with a lot of ego involved in all ranks of those selected for the deeds.

With each passing day I learn the truth of what was really behind events that were presented to us in a great big lie package. Our school books contain lies about democracy. Every lesson in civics is a lie - right to vote, right to trial by jury, military for defense. And my favorite - growing up believing that the Supreme Court and the FBI/CIA were neutral and that the FDA was watching out for our interests. What a gullible fool I was. I'd like to confront the people who put that thought in my head.

I believe there must be people in the CIA who are honorable.
I believe there are fools and criminals and ego-maniacs in the CIA.

As long as I live, I will never get the image of the photograph of Porter Goss at a table with the Cuban-Americans who were, most likely, American terrorists as well as CIA employees and operatives.

In some ways, the CIA is legal terrorism given what we're learning about our history.

The truth hurts. The U.S. has conducted terrorism on some/many people around the world.

This is and has been a country with split personalities.

And it got its reputation for goodness and generosity in a package with the lies. The truth hurts.

[The Backlash Cometh]

33. I know there are good people in the CIA.

[zeemike]

29. The corrupt wing of the CIA came out of WW 2

There was a dark comedy movie that actually dealt with this called Catch 22 that was eclipsed by MASH, but was a great movie.
And Eisenhower was aware of this corruption and how it applied to the Military industrial Complex that he warned us about. And while the Movie Catch 22 was fiction and a dark comedy it was never the less base on a true fact of how corruption filtered into the military and the CIA during those times.

[The Backlash Cometh]

34. Yossarian. Can you refresh my memory on the CIA part of Catch 22?

I just remember a very shady supply sergeant.

[zeemike]

48. No not just the supply Sargent but the CO

Can't remember his name, and the lieutenant played by John Voigt who spent the majority of the movie wheeling and dealing like day traders om the market.
A lot of that actually happened especially when the war was winding down and they had more time for mastiff.
It was a great movie but I have not seen it for years.

[book_worm]

38. Come on--JFK was a hard line cold warrior--read his inagural speech

for all it's eloquence it's also one of the most hawkish speeches ever given by an American president.

[peacetalksforall]

46. Yes, I'll try to reread it. I always thought the hard line was for our enemies and our

war mongers. He seemed to seek peaceful resolutions in action.

Kennedy - talk tough and work towards peace?
Bush - talk tough, talk peace, then act tougher and plunder in war as well as take illegal actions and dismiss treaties and century old legal right documents and treatises on war.

[OzarkDem]

35. Read "Brothers" by David Talbot

Its very well documented. You'll find JFK was opposed to the Cold War warriors and fought them to pursue diplomatic solutions. His outreach to Kruschev was a good example.

His advocacy for diplomacy and refusal to follow the Cold War types at the Pentagon and CIA may have cost him his life.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

3. Such innocence...

Ahhhhhh, the days when adulterers could still be considered "innocent." :sarcasm:

[Bobbieo]

5. I sure miss those days!!!! They were good ones.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

44. See my post 43.

[StClone]

10. I think Innocence too

Compare the functionaries in this Bush Administration with the high functioning of the Kennedy's. They were not perfect but they believed innocently in the power of Government's Function, purpose and usefulness to direct a Nation to useful pursuits. Apollo Moon shots were the high water mark of this Country. I think since then we have shrunk back to the baser needs of selfishness, nihilism and self-destruction. Doubt Kennedy wanted the Cold War and it was misinformation and paranoia that took Billions out of public hands into nuclear technology that produces nothing but a uneasy sense of self-preservation at all costs. Innocent more so than today.

[midlife_mo_Jo]

43. There's a whole lot of words to use for the Kennedy -

"innocent" isn't one of them. Especially innocent as depicted in the photos that went along with the article. Boinking other women while married is not "innocent" and never has been.

Now if you want to use words like smart, capable, inspiring, etc. Go right ahead. :)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. Seeing a documentary on ballerina Maria Tallchief just now reminded me of

how the quality of American presidents has gone down in the past 40 years.

There was a film clip of JFK speaking at a fundraising event for the National Center for the Arts (named the Kennedy Center for the Arts after his death), and his speech was one that the Bushboy would NEVER give. I couldn't find the text of the exact speech, but here is the text of a similar one, given less than a month before the assassination:

“I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.

If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision whereever it takes him.

I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft.

I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all our citizens.”

[tekisui]

6. Thanks for that.

We need another President that can speak eloquently about America's ideals.

[schrodinger_I]

9. Correction

We need a President that can speak eloquently....period.
* is so hard to watch on television.

[Octafish]

7. President Kennedy kept America out of World War III.

Despite what the Pentagon and Congress and his own Cabinet wanted,

President Kennedy kept the Peace...

During the Bay of Pigs.
During Berlin Crisis.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis.
He tried to keep us out of Vietnam, too.

His successors didn't.

PS: And if Nixon had won in 1960, we may've all been incinerated in World War III.

PPS: Thank you for these images, tekisui. What a beautiful family.

[MonkeyFunk]

12. god, she was lovely.

[Didereaux]

13. Jackies' greatest achievement and legacy...were the two children

In circumstances that even money does not overcome, Jackie managed to raise BOTH her children to be fine adults! And by comparing them to family and friends and associates it is quite obvious that it was the mother who instilled the values. Yes, there was the Greek and all of that, but those two kids apparently were shielded well by their mother.

Ethel didn't fair so well, not bad, but not nearly so well.

Then you have only to compare those families with the one that wanted most of all to exceed them -the Bushs'. Barbara will to er dying day never understand or accept that 'blue-blood' though her heritage is, she remains only a nouveu-rich hillbilly. Nothing more than a 'Ma' Barker with a pack of ill begotten, runny-nosed undisciplined brats. Wouldn't it just be the perfect justice if say 1 hour before she died she actually saw and understood what she was and what she bequeathed the world?

[SoCalDem]

16. She married Onassis FOR her children

She was supposed to have said after Bobby was killed.."they are killing Kennedys, and I'm getting my kids out of here".

Onassis promised her protection and an easy life, in exchange for having her as a status symbol..

did "she sell herself"? maybe, but she looked at it as a business arrangement, and probably always knew she would leave him when the kids were older..and he knew it too..

[Skittles]

15. nice pics but Kennedy was never 48 years old

in 1960 he would have been 43 and he died at 46

[King Coal]

17. Thanks Skittles. I didn't think that sounded quite right.

[Javaman]

25. He looks like a man under an enormous amount of stress.

It looks like it's very hard for him to relax.

Jackie, for what it's worth, appears to be trying to allow him a bit of peace.

No matter what was going on at that moment in the world, the people of the United States back then, believed in hope and had a trust for the leaders of our nation.

After he was shot, the slow erosion began and has come to conclusion with moron* and the ending of our basic freedoms.

So sad to think that moron* now holds the same office that Kennedy once did. Odd, isn't it?

[peacetalksforall]

28. I thought this country started to unravel with his assassination by our own.

I now think that the assassination was when we started waking up. The slow erosion started with the industrial revolution and other people than the voters were adjusting the agendas. We were so gullible. Steering this country was like writing a movie script, in retrospect.

[zeemike]

49. He was not a well man

He often wore a back brace due to the injury he suffered in the PT boat accident in WW2 and took a lot of drugs to control the pain.
Things like that were generally hidden bu public figures and the press went along with it.

[cgrindley]

30. The innocence of what? taking a lot of drugs and nailing an actress?

Mordred did have some legitimate complaints against Camelot, you know.

[Avalux]

31. lol - my thoughts exactly. They're great pics but.....

....a lot was going on under the surface in their personal lives. Certainly not innocent.

[book_worm]

36. The 43 year old Kennedy--he never even made it to 48.

[Beerboy]

40. Way cool! Thanks for the link,

I've not seen these before.

[Raine]

50. Makes me so sad

to see those pictures. :cry: I wish we could return to that time and not have November 22 happen.