Click2Flicks - Thirteen Days - Chapter 7

<body link="0000ff" alink="ff0000" vlink="000000" bgcolor=000033> <table width="100%" bgcolor=000033> <tr> <td align=center valign=top> <table width=90% bgcolor=ffffff> <tr> <td align=center valign=top> <tr> <td> <div align=center><p><b><font face="arial, helvetica" size=5 color=000000><b>"THIRTEEN DAYS"</p> <p><font size="4">CHAPTER 7 - KENNY O'DONNELL</font></font></b><br><br> <center> <table width="520"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top"> <div align="justify"> <p><font face="arial, helvetica" color="000000" size="3">One of Bobby Kennedy’s close friends was <a href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0688148611.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" target="_blank"><b>Kenny O’Donnell</b></a>. Part of the President’s inner circle of " <a href="http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/junkie/links/powers.htm" target="_blank"><b>Irish Mafia</b></a>," O’Donnell was a special adviser to the President. </p> <p>Secretly recorded transcripts of the Missile Crisis deliberations reveal O’Donnell was not part of the meetings or the discussions. On the other hand, as a close friend of the President and Bobby, O’Donnell had extraordinary access. He was usually around - often in the <a href="http://home.rose.net/~king/campdavid/WHMess/JFKBirthday.jpg" target="_blank"><b>background</b></a>.</p> <p>The story is told of a conversation JFK had with Kenny O’Donnell when the Democratic party was considering a vice presidential candidate. Party managers thought Lyndon Johnson would be a good running mate. Although he wasn’t sure about it, Kennedy eventually agreed. He <a href="http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAjohnsonLB.htm" target="_blank"><b>told</b></a> Kenny O’Donnell: </p> <blockquote><b><i><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">I’m forty-three years old, I’m not going to die in office. So the vice presidency doesn’t mean anything.</blockquote></b></i></font face></p> <p>What <i>did</i> mean something to the President, beginning with the first day of the Crisis (October 16th), was the unwavering dedication of his most trusted advisers. Most would get very little sleep for the next two weeks.</p> </div> <p align="center"><font size="2"><a href="thirteen_days_ch6.htm">GO TO LAST CHAPTER</a>     <a href="thirteen_days_ch1.htm">BACK TO FIRST CHAPTER  </a>   <a href="thirteen_days_ch8.htm">GO TO NEXT CHAPTER</a></p><br> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> </table> </body>