A 1964 seven-part interview between Jackie Kennedy and Kennedy historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was published as a book and audio tapes Wednesday. The interview was conducted soon after John F. Kennedy's assassination as part of an oral history of the Kennedy presidency. The tapes were kept under wraps at the first lady's request, but were finally released by her daughter Caroline to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy administration.
The tapes provide an intimate look of the marriage between Jackie and the president, as well as her perspective on the people and events that made up the "Camelot" era. In excerpts released in advance, she warmly recalls the 45 minute naps President Kennedy would take—in his pajamas—in the middle of each day. She also recounts the anxiety of the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which she says she told her husband, "If anything happens, we're all going to stay right here with you. I just want to be with you, and I want to die with you, and the children do, too—than live without you."
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Some of her remarks in the interview are much more controversial. She calls French President Charles de Gaulle an "egomaniac," civil rights leader Martin Luther King a "phony," and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi "a real prune—bitter, kind of pushy, horrible woman." She also remembers the president saying of his vice president Lyndon B. Johnson, "Oh, God, can you ever imagine what would happen to the country if Lyndon were president?"
Some who have already heard the tapes describe them as "explosive." What do you think? Will the Jackie Kennedy audio tapes change the way you think of her and the Kennedy presidency? Take the poll and comment below.
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