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Tuesday 22 May 2012

JFK: The Nastiest President of the Twentieth Century?

Thursday, 9th February 2012

Who was the most reprehensible US President in the twentieth century? That's a tough question, though not one related to policy, political preferences or job performances. I mean instead: who was the nastiest piece of work to occupy the White House at any point during the last century. There are, I think, five contenders: Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, John F Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Mimi Alford's new memoir, relating how she had an affair with JFK while working in a junior role at "Camelot" offers more form proving that the drug-wracked, priapic Kennedy is a leading contender in this grim contest. Among the gruesome stories she tells:

Dave Powers [Kennedy's Special Assistant and the man in the next car behind the President that day in Dallas] was sitting poolside while the President and I swam lazy circles around each other, splashing playfully. Dave had removed his jacket and loosened his tie in the warm air of the pool, but he was otherwise fully clothed. He was sitting on a towel, with his pants leg rolled up, and his bare feet dangling in the water.

The President swam over and whispered in my ear. "Mr. Powers looks a little tense," he said. "Would you take care of it?"

It was a dare, but I knew exactly what he meant. This was a challenge to give Dave Powers oral sex. I don't think the President thought I'd do it, but I'm ashamed to say that I did. It was a pathetic, sordid, scene, and is very hard for me to think about today. Dave was jolly and obedient as I stood in the shallow end of the pool and performed my duties. The President silently watched.

As Tim Noah says, it is unlikely Alford is making this up; she was partially "outed" by Robert Dallek in 2003. Her memoir may be a poor thing - it was savaged by Janet Maslin in the New York Times - but that doesn't make it a fiction. So, assuming this anecdote is true, you've got a sadistic President who gets his kicks from sexually humiliating his own mistress and his own friends and assistants. Cracking chap. As Noah says, the "worldly tolerance" of JFK's character flaws is wearing a little thin these days.

Finally, one wonders how the history of the United States 1960-74 might have been different if the country had not elected three consecutive psycopaths to the Presidency?

Filed under: Americana (479 more articles) , History (518 more articles) , JFK (5 more articles)

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and I'll go to bed at noon

February 9th, 2012 11:30am Report this comment

You can also make a strong argument against JFK in policy terms - he launched the Bay of Pigs fiasco (planned by Eisenhower, to be fair), initiated America's involvement in Vietnam and was extremely cowardly and hesitant on civil rights.

I still think Nixon wins, though. Nothing can quite match the seething cauldron of bigotry and paranoia disclosed by the tapes, more of which are released every few years. The most infamous, perhaps, is when he says abortion should be allowed in certain cases, like "when you have a black and a white, or a rape". I wonder how Barack Obama feels about occupying the same building as a man who would have aborted him on principle.

Rhoda Klapp

February 9th, 2012 11:43am Report this comment

The only thing of any interest is, what are they not telling us NOW? It is of little use to anyone, and only of prurient interest, to find out what they are up to after their term. Only Clinton has really been caught while in office.

Rhoda Klapp

February 9th, 2012 11:47am Report this comment

Oh, I meant fot peccadillos. Obviously Nixon was caughtm but that was merely for lying and being unattractive to boot.

Austin Barry

February 9th, 2012 12:23pm Report this comment

Surely you should include the detestable, alleged rapist Clinton? Although, to be fair, the long-standing rumours about Hillary's inclinations seem to have been given some substance by her recent reinvention as Col. Rosa Klebb.

James Strong

February 9th, 2012 12:48pm Report this comment

'Alleged rapist Clinton'.

No man can defend himself against an allegation that he committed rape years previously, except to say that it is not true.

It's a detestable and poisonous allegation to make, destestable to put such an allegation out into the public domain.
This is not to defend rapists but it is to say that a man's reputation should be just as jealously guarded as a woman's.

Matthew Blott

February 9th, 2012 1:14pm Report this comment

I've always thought he's the most overrated US President - his defenders say he showed leadership during the Cuban Missle Crisis but the fact - as Alex notes - he was pretty much a drug addict meant Kruschev encountered a man on their first meeting who was so high Kruschev thought he was a pushover. If Kennedy been able to look after himself properly it's unlikely we'd have had the crisis in the first place.

"and I'll go to bed at noon" has already beaten me to it for the other points I was going to make. Not a good president at all and, it seems, not a very nice bloke also.

Austin Barry

February 9th, 2012 1:31pm Report this comment

Those of you who wish to check Hillary’s brutal new look should go to today’s Drudge Report website.

Be warned though – it’s very scary.

Andy Carpark

February 9th, 2012 1:46pm Report this comment

Yes, gotta hand it to you, that is pretty gruesome.

And the result of the Olympic facelift final is:

Croydon 1-0 Washington

Radford NG

February 9th, 2012 2:13pm Report this comment

I can't agree about LBJ.It was the old Southern fox fanangled Robert Kennedy's reforms through the Senate and broke the power of the para-military terrorist wing of the Democrat Party:the Klu Klux Klan.

I S

February 9th, 2012 2:16pm Report this comment

Hillary - more Rover's Return than Rosa.

Draya

February 11th, 2012 7:13pm Report this comment

Can we finally get off this Camelot thing? It's time to start seeing these people as just human beings. After the awful messianic treatment of Obama as the savior of the world, can we please just look for decent people to place in official positions in the government?