Episode 3 The Kennedys

-You want me to be Joe, and I'm not!

-Well, that's obvious.

-Well, then save your money! I can't win.

-Your name is Kennedy, and Kennedys never come second.

Jacqueline Bouvier, Congressman Jack Kennedy.

He'll never be faithful.

I don't particularly care what happens, really. I mean, after today, I'm done.

He's just on edge.

He's been waiting 50 years for this day.

-Mr President! Mr President!

-Jack needs somebody he can trust,

-and I need YOU to keep an eye on Jack.

-I'm picking my own cabinet.

I believe they elected me president, not you.

'A happy President-Elect and Mrs Kennedy,

'today left the hospital with their new addition, John F Kennedy Jr.

'When reporters asked Mr Kennedy if he hoped his son would someday occupy the White House,

'he joked that one president per family is probably enough.

'Later, at his Georgetown residence, Mr Kennedy met with several newly appointed members

'of his cabinet and advisory staff.

'The President has tapped Harvard Dean McGeorge Bundy, to be his National Security Advisor,

'Robert Mcnamara, president of the Ford Motor Company,

'will serve as Secretary of Defence, and General Thomas Bennett

'will sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.'

'The top spot at the Justice Department has yet to be filled,

'and who America's chief law enforcement officer will be remains an open question.'

I'm a little surprised you haven't announced Bobby as attorney general.

Oh. Well, there's, uh...

There's a lot to consider, Dad, and I still have time.

I think you owe it to him.

Given everything he's done for you.

I appreciate that, but I'm not sure he's the right choice.

Really?

How are you feeling?

Wonderful. They took excellent care of me.

I had all my children at home, as you know.

Yes. I knew that.

CLOCK CHIMES

Have you thought about what you'll be wearing to the inauguration?

-SIGHS:

-Uh, um...

Mr Cassini has drawn up some beautiful sketches.

He is a very well-respected designer.

I'm sure whatever he comes up with will be Lovely.

Though...

he tends to favour a more European look...

Designs that work better on a more slender woman's body.

Well, I have eight weeks to get my figure Back.

Oh, don't you think that's cutting it rather fine, dear?

I'd try to get it back in four.

Jackie, do you think Jack should appoint Bobby as attorney general?

Whatever Jack wants.

-Joe, I'm not sure that's such a good idea.

-Why is that?

Bobby told me he wants to go back to Boston,

Spend more time with Ethel and the children.

Well, that's good to know, but he needs to be with Jack.

He has no experience.

He has the best experience in the world. He's your brother.

Christ, he's never been in a courtroom.

He deserves it, Jack, and he wants it.

I'm not sure he does.

Well, I want it for him.

All those other guys, the Harvard and Yale guys you're talking to, the PhDs...

their only allegiance is to their resume.

Bobby's as smart as any of 'em,

and he'll jump under a train for you.

-I'll think about it.

-No, don't think. Get it done.

You've got lots of other work to do.

Thank you.

Listen, I think before we go in there and tell him I'm not going to do it,

-we should be clear on this.

-Yeah, we covered that.

But you haven't said one way or the other. I want to hear it from you.

You think I want to hear your whiny voice yakking in my ear for the next four years?

-Listen, I'm serious.

-Christ, it's four years.

-I'll do it. I don't want to, but I will if you need me to.

-Go live your life.

You've done enough, all right?

But if they don't impeach me first, you're coming back to get me re-elected in '64.

-All right, but you're telling him.

-I'm not. Oh, hell, no. I'm not starting. You start.

CLOCK TICKING

Well, we've talked about it, and there's just far too many negatives here.

The press is going to be out for blood, and I, I don't want to come out of the gate on the defensive.

No. No.

Besides, um...

you'll-you'll be there, and, uh...

I mean, he doesn't really... really need me, do you?

I won't be there every day. You will.

Well, I-I just... I think it'll look bad.

I think the press is going to say, uh, it's nepotism, it's a co-presidency.

-I don't think it'll work, dad.

-We have bigger problem with Hoover.

-Oh, that's true.

-He's not going to accept him as a boss, and...

-That's a good point.

Hell, he's ran the FBI for 30 years. I mean...

It's just, uh...

It's not going to work.

TICKING CONTINUES

All I can do...is try to give you the benefit of my experience.

If you boys don't want that,

I have no choice but to respect your decision.

Well, thank you, Dad. We appreciate that.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Robert F Kennedy as attorney general.

Uh, know, there have been some questions about his qualifications...

but, uh, I can attest to the fact that he is,

uh, very intelligent, very, uh, very tenacious,

and, uh, we thought it'd be useful for him to get some, uh, experience

before he went into private practice, so... LAUGHTER

'So I, uh, wasn't going to have him say anything, but I think I will.

-'Bobby?' MEN:

-Bobby...

Thank you all very much. I, um...

I, uh, am pleased to, uh, accept

the position of the Attorney Generalship, uh, of the United States.

Joe Kennedy thinks I'm going to take orders from that snot-nosed kid of his.

Don't get upset, Edgar. Would you like a Tums?

Yes, I would.

TV CONTINUES PLAYING INDISTINCTLY

The FBI is the finest investigative agency in the world.

I've spent my entire life making it so, and I will not...

let it be degraded by a bunch of... amateurs.

Well, you've always found a way to circumvent the authority of the attorney general, whoever he is.

You're right, Clyde.

You're right.

-MAN:

-'Despite subfreezing temperatures, hundreds of thousands

'watched today's inaugural ceremonies,

'as President John F Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B Johnson

'took their constitutional oaths of office, on the steps of the nation's Capitol.'

In the long history of the world,

only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger.

I do not shrink from this responsibility. I welcome it.

I do not believe any of us would exchange places

with any other people or any other generation.

The energy, the faith, the devotion

which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it.

And the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your country.

APPLAUSE

Mr President, Bay of Pigs on the southern Cuban coast.

For the past 18 months, we at the CIA

have been training a brigade of anti-Castro guerrillas in Guatemala.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

Then I'm sure you're also aware that President Eisenhower approved this training

and its ultimate purpose - the-the elimination of Fidel Castro.

Well, I'm certainly for his, elimination. I just question whether or not this will, uh, work.

Yes, it will, Mr President.

Without direct US involvement, General. our fingerprints can't be anywhere on this operation.

They won't be, sir.

The guerrillas are using untraceable equipment,

and the support planes and vessels are without US insignia.

That's all very good and well, General, but the Castro army here seems to have, uh, 25,000 men.

Our invasion force has roughly, uh... 1,500.

And Castro's forces are, uh, well-armed. They have Russian hardware.

The guerrillas have the advantage of surprise, sir.

Castro has not one idea in hell that they're coming.

Now let's not forget, the Cuban people will rise up and support this liberating force.

-Well, I question that as well.

-The state department shares your doubts, Mr President.

There's another thing to consider. If we give the go-ahead

and the operation fails, will you be able to resist the pressure to save it

by ordering our direct military involvement?

Sir, we have a communist bastion 90 miles from our shore.

By excising it, we make this whole part of the world more secure.

This is something we have to do.

The general is the best commander I ever served under.

In my opinion, he shortened the war in the Pacific by six months.

Well, he's, uh, he's quite a character.

Yes, sir, he is. But he also makes a good point.

The guerrillas are patriots. They want to take their homeland back.

Bob?

This is your first strategic decision.

You go against the recommendation of the chiefs and the CIA, they're going to make you pay for it.

I'm not issuing an invasion order because I'm afraid of the joint chiefs.

Sir, for every hour that this decision is delayed,

you run the risk of these invasion plans being leaked.

You think this succeeds?

I do, sir.

Not only will it succeed, but it will send Khrushchev a message of our intent and our resolve.

And it will show him exactly the kind of president you intend to be.

You know, when I made a decision in the Senate,

I always had 40 or 50 guys to go alongside me

to take the heat if things went wrong. Job's little different now.

All right, issue the go codes, Bob.

Send those guerrillas to Cuba.

Yes, Mr President.

BOBBY: Thanks for coming by, Mr Director.

I, uh, wondered if you had a chance to, uh, review the policy changes

I sent over to your office.

I did see them, yes.

Well, I'd like to, uh, streamline the flow of information

going to the public and the press.

In the past, all bureau communications were issued

through my office.

Well, from, uh, from now on, I'd like, uh,

any press releases from the bureau to go out, if approved,

on DOJ letterhead, and anyone from the bureau giving public speeches

will have their comments first cleared by my office.

I'm puzzled by your need to control the flow of information so tightly.

Well, I want the entire department to speak with one voice.

The bureau has had its own voice for 30 years,

and I have to insist that we maintain it.

Well, now this is a new era,

and there's a new world order, Mr Director.

I sincerely hope that you can adapt yourself to it.

I hope you'll forgive me, young man,

if it takes me a while to make that adaptation.

I do forgive you, and I would appreciate from now on

you addressing me as General.

Feet on the desk, throwing darts against the wall,

is desecrating government property. Little bastard has no respect.

He thinks he can take over my bureau?

We're going to have to dissuade him, Clyde.

Bobby's squeaky clean.

But his brother isn't.

The Jack Kennedy file, that dates back to 1942.

We need something current.

It shouldn't be too difficult.

Our President is just like his father.

Their need for sexual conquest borders on addiction.

And I want full attention paid to this.

PHONE RINGS

-JOE:

-Hello?

You, uh... You got a minute to talk?

Well, that's what I'm here for, Jack.

We, uh, we made a, uh, pretty big decision over here today.

We're going to send that, uh,

that brigade of, uh, guerrillas into, uh, Cuba.

What, to get rid of Castro?

That's right.

No American troops, right?

You can't be traced back?

Well, that's what I've been told.

Well, that's great.

It'll be great if it works.

Well, Castro's a damn dictator, Hitler with a beard,

and you're going to get rid of him

in your first three months in office.

-Congratulations.

-Thanks.

A-And stick to your guns.

You've got the best people in the world working for you,

and that's what they recommended, right?

Yes.

Well, then you did the right thing.

And let me tell you something, I don't like Harry Truman,

but when he dropped the bomb, he got the best information he could,

he made his decision, and that was that.

You'll be fine.

Thank you.

Good night, son.

These congressional receptions are ridiculous.

Be confident in your decision, Jack.

You're a wonderful leader.

Those guerrillas are going to land on the beach in less than an hour.

Have you talked to Bobby about it?

No. No, he's, uh... He's not involved.

You look beautiful.

Very well.

Castro's intelligence services must have been tipped off.

His men were on the beach, waiting for the guerrillas with Soviet tanks.

I don't understand. I ordered the invasion when I did

to avoid a security breach.

He had a clear view of the brigade as it approached.

Clear view? It was the middle of the goddamn night.

It was the conditions.

What?

We didn't factor in a full moon.

-MCNAMARA:

-"Engagement continues in the bay.

"Guerrillas under heavy bombardment.

"Questionable if they can withstand..."

I understand the, uh, guerrillas are in trouble.

What's going on out there?

They're taking heavy losses, sir.

How heavy?

We don't know precisely.

What's that?

A cable from one of our CIA operatives on the scene.

-What's it say?

-Sir, if you'd just allow me to para...

I want you to read it, Bob.

"Cuban defence forces opened fire at 700 yards.

"Landing craft blown out of the water.

"Have counted over 50 corpses in the water.

"One young guerrilla suffered extensive shrapnel wounds

"in an explosion no more than ten yards from my position.

"Due to withering fire, I could not reach him.

"He choked to death on his own blood."

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

"Have," uh, "never seen such slaughter."

At this point, sir,

the situation can only be served with air power.

The guerrillas had air support.

They flew their own planes in from Nicaragua.

They were ineffective.

To make matters worse, Castro's planes destroyed the supply ship

that contained the guerrillas' ammunition and communication gear.

Jesus. These were on one ship?

Yes, sir.

And there's no uprising in the Cuban people.

Sir, we don't get planes in the air immediately,

this operation is doomed.

Our planes?

Our planes launched from our carriers?

We'll need one of our destroyers to take out Soviet tanks.

No, I have been consistent on this from the get-go.

Cuba is a Russian ally.

I'm not going to risk retaliation from Khrushchev.

He won't do a damn thing.

You said that the invasion force would land without resistance.

You told me that, uh, Castro and the people of Cuba would rise up.

You've been wrong about everything so far.

Air support is the only way to keep this

from becoming an unmitigated disaster.

It already is.

Mr President, if you don't send in the planes,

those men out there on the beach, who were trained by us,

who trust in us... They will die.

I'm aware of that.

Well, then please, sir, make your decision.

Time is of the essence.

I don't, uh, suppose CIA can explain this, Mr Dulles?

Well, I won't do it.

Christ, I'm not going to send in our own planes.

Mr President, you can't just sit here...

I'm your commander in chief. That's my decision.

Are these the cables? Latest?

-MAN:

-Yes, sir.

I just wanted it to work.

And I trusted them.

Jack, Bennett told you, he assured you that this...

I believed because they were military

they knew a damned thing about military matters.

Khrushchev...

This is a victory for him.

It's a victory I handed him, I...

The public relations victory of a lifetime.

I was so stupid.

You're exhausted, Jack.

You should get some sleep.

And all those men... They're never coming home because of me.

-JOE:

-How could you let this happen?

What are you talking about, Dad?

I'm talking about this Bay of Pigs thing.

How could you let Jack do it?

I wasn't in those meetings.

That's foreign policy.

Well, you should have been.

Now listen to me, Bobby,

I know you didn't want to be in the cabinet,

that you wanted to be on your own,

but you've got the job,

and your job is to support your brother.

That's precisely what I've been doing.

-I do support my brother.

-Not enough.

You have to be the sounding board

for every major decision he makes.

His presidency's in trouble, and you need to fix it.

LINE DISCONNECTS

Bobby and I'll come up Friday.

-WOMAN:

-Mr President, the Attorney General's here to see you.

What's everyone telling you to do?

Hunker down. Avoid the press.

Sons of bitches.

They want this job, they can have it tomorrow.

So, where do we go from here?

Well, hopefully, there'll be a natural disaster

some other part of the world, and people will forget about

the man-made disaster right here.

Listen, I wish I could have been here for you.

Sorry.

Jesus, Bobby, I made so many mistakes with this damned thing.

Not having you around was another one of my screw-ups.

Listen, covert action was justified, Jack.

You were trying to liberate an oppressed people.

You weren't committing a crime.

Unfortunately, it didn't work.

No, it didn't.

Well, not this time.

But we're going to fix this.

We're going to get Castro out of there, one way or the other.

Now I got to figure out how long to hide before I show my face again.

Why not show it tomorrow?

Hold a press conference.

You stand up in front of the American people

and tell them you made a mistake.

Use the entire country as my confessional?

That's very Catholic of you, Bobby.

Not very presidential.

Yeah, well, maybe not, but at least it's human.

When all else fails, tell the truth.

-MAN:

-In Havana, Fidel Castro claimed victory at the Bay of Pigs

over Washington's imperialist warmongers.

Speaking, at times hysterically, to large and enthusiastic crowds,

Castro did not mention President Kennedy by name,

but he promised that Cuba would defend itself to the last man

if there is another attempt by the United States

to overthrow his Communist regime.

-REPORTERS:

-Mr President? Mr President?

Our intention was, of course, to, uh, help the Cuban people

free themselves from the Communist yoke.

Um, there's an old saying that, uh, victory has a, uh, hundred fathers,

defeat is an orphan. This is, uh, not to deny responsibility.

Uh, I am the, uh, responsible officer of the government,

that much is obvious.

The, uh, brave volunteers at the, uh, Bay of Pigs, uh,

believed that Communism in this hemisphere was intolerable,

and that freedom in Cuba was inevitable.

I believe, uh, in the inevitable defeat

of Communism throughout the world.

Mr President? Mr President?

Yes.

Gentlemen, how are you?

Mr President, I've begun to put an assessment together

as to why the operation did not achieve its desired result.

Well, that's fine, but I'm, uh, less interested in a post mortem

than where we go from here.

Where do you want to go, Mr President?

Well, Castro's going to continue to be a problem.

And, uh, this government is, uh, committed to, uh, resolving that.

I'd just like to go on the record, sir,

that the CIA's information about the reaction of the Cuban people was

based on contact with dissidents among Castro's inner circle.

Very good. You're on the record, Mr Dulles.

I, uh, think it's important to stress to our allies and the Communists

that, uh, despite this, uh...setback,

that, uh, our resolve is not diminished.

That's a fine sentiment, Mr President,

but the Russians are going to look at it as weak,

and made significantly weaker by your press conference this morning.

Well, I don't know if I follow you.

The idea of the commander in chief

apologizing for a military operation...

Let's just say I've never seen anything like it.

Well, I am known for breaking new ground.

You may enjoy your witticisms,

but there are a hundred dead men out there.

How dare you, sir?

Might I remind you you're speaking to the President of the United States?

And his apology, as you call it, was one of the bravest things

any president has done, and we're going to come out of this

stronger than ever because of it.

So if you can't see your own culpability in this mess,

I suggest you don't belong in this room or administration.

That goes for everyone else here.

Well, you all know my brother, Bobby.

LAUGHTER

General, I understand you're not pleased with my performance,

and you consider me inexperienced.

I just got a hell of a lot of experience, and I intend to use it

to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

Thank you, Mr President.

Gentlemen, in your briefing package, you will find

our first order of business. Please turn to page three.

Still haven't got a reaction from the press conference.

People either rally around me or I'll be impeached.

Jack, you were magnificent.

It's just what the country needed to hear.

Well, thanks, honey, and I hope you're right.

How's everybody doing up there?

Fine.

The kids are having fun at the beach.

I'm doing some work on De Gaulle.

It's only six weeks before we go to Paris.

Good. Well, I have a national security briefing in the morning,

-and I'll come up to the Cape after that.

-See you then.

-I love you.

-I love you, too.

-Jack's going to try to get here tomorrow.

-Oh, wonderful.

Well, I think I'm...

I'm going to call it a day.

Good night, Rosie.

Good night, Grandpa.

Don't forget to turn out the lights.

Can I get you anything, Mrs Kennedy? Cup of tea?

No, thank you, dear.

It'll keep me up.

Do you mind if I sit with you?

Of course not.

-It's beautiful.

-Mmm.

How are things with you and Jack?

Busy.

We don't see much of each other.

Joe was never around while I was raising the children.

He was in Hollywood, New York...

A man of the world.

That must have been very difficult for you with nine children.

Oh, it was.

After Jack was born, I became very depressed about my marriage.

I took the children and moved back to my father's house.

You left Joe?

The rumours of his indiscretions became too much for me.

How long were you separated?

Not long.

My father sent me back to Joe.

He said a Catholic woman's place was with her husband.

A Catholic woman's obligation is to keep the family together.

That's what the church intends for us.

But the rumours didn't go away?

Not only did they not go away, it became obvious they weren't rumours.

Yet you stayed.

My husband provided a life for me, a life that allowed me

to raise children in the way God wants them to be raised.

But he hurt you.

Yes, as I know that Jack has hurt you.

The men we've married have great gifts and great flaws, but...

they're the men we've chosen.

"STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" BLARES FROM TV

TURNS TV OFF

PHONE RINGS

'White House operator.'

This is Mrs Kennedy. I'm looking for the president.

I tried calling up to the residence, but he's not answering.

'Let me ring Mrs Lincoln's office, ma'am. Please hold.'

'Mrs Lincoln isn't answering.'

-'I can check with the Secret Service office if you'd like.'

-It's OK.

-Good night.

-'Good night, ma'am.'

Hi, Toots.

Judy.

(NEWSREADER) 'President Kennedy's approval rating,

'which had plummeted sharply due to the Bay of Pigs incident,

'took a dramatic upturn following his press conference,

'in which he accepted responsibility for the disaster.

'Over 80% of the American people now approve

'of the President's job performance.

'Perhaps buoyed by that response, Mr Kennedy is in Massachusetts

'for what his aides described as "strenuous relaxation".'

-That's a touchdown!

-Woo-hoo!

You played well. I'm done!

Nice.

What did you get up to last night?

Well, we're going to try to work out, uh...

some sort of negotiation for some of those Cuban prisoners.

Jackie called me about 11:30, concerned you weren't in the residence.

What'd you tell her?

Well, I told her you were exhausted.

You'd probably unplugged the phone.

Am I in trouble here? Did she buy that?

I don't know.

I suppose.

I said I'd spoken to you 15 minutes earlier,

and you were going to go to bed.

Well, not that I, um...

get any points for it. I was going to go to bed, I just...

Christ, I couldn't sleep.

-I just...

-You're, uh, not the junior senator from Massachusetts.

-I know.

I know.

It's not even about the sex, for God's sake,

it's just...

Hmm.

The rush of the damned thing.

What you and Jackie have is so beautiful, Jack.

I just don't want you to do anything to ruin it.

We can just pass the whole thing over to state.

Mr President, Director Hoover is here to see you.

I asked him to wait in the cabinet room.

-He's not on the schedule.

-What's he doing here?

I don't know. He said it's a matter that needs your immediate attention.

The woman's name is Judy Campbell.

I believe you've known her for some time, were introduced to her

by the entertainer Frank Sinatra.

Here she is entering the West Wing last night at 11:17pm.

We've had her under surveillance because of her other known associations.

What associations in particular?

The gentleman is Sam Giancana.

I believe you know him from your days on the McClellan Committee.

The most powerful gangster in the country.

Under normal circumstances, Mr President,

I would feel that your dalliances should remain a matter between you,

your wife, and your god.

But our concern is Mr Giancana might be using the young woman

to put you, and therefore your administration,

in a compromised position.

What are you, er...

What are you planning on doing with those?

Naturally, they will remain secure in our files.

I urge you...

..tread cautiously, Mr President. Tread cautiously.

Good day to you, sir.

General.

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