Final_Judgment

[28] Final Judgment 89
returned from Rome with word that Hitler's generals might attempt to
overthrow him if they were offered terms less hopeless than unconditional
surrender.
"Kennedy grew emotional and castigated Roosevelt. He talked of his
two sons in the service, and declared that the war could be ended within two
weeks if the German generals were given encouragement.
"Of course, no Church official could speak out against the folly of
Roosevelt's policy, but Kennedy could, and this had been Palmer's purpose
in arranging the luncheon. The editor asked whether the former Ambassador
would write, or at least sign, an article condemning unconditional surrender.
The impact of such an article, given Kennedy's former standing in the
administration, could be enormous. But he did not accept the invitation and the
war being fought by his sons and so many other young men raged on.” 40
Ambassador Kennedy no doubt remembered this meeting for the rest of
his days. He was very bitter about the war and particularly bitter at Franklin
D. Roosevelt. Kennedy once allegedly referred to FDR as "that crippled
son of a bitch that killed my son Joe."
(Joe Kennedy, Jr., of course, being the ambassador's eldest son. It was
Joe, Jr.'s death that ultimately laid the groundwork for the second son, John,
to be groomed for the presidency in his older brother's place.)
A BUSINESS VENTURE
However, the senior Kennedy's views most definitely did not change as
time went by. But as the retired ambassador grew older, he became more
pragmatic. This was evidenced in a meeting—in the mid-1950's—between
Kennedy and an associate of Lawrence Dennis—a New York-based
entertainment executive named DeWest Hooker.
In fact, as we shall see, it may have been efforts by Hooker, as a
consequence of his meeting with Joe Kennedy, that helped John F. Kennedy
win his narrow victory in the 1960 presidential election.
Mr. Hooker hoped to interest Joe Kennedy in a business venture which
Hooker believed might be right up the ambassador's alley. Hooker wanted
to establish an independent television network, and he felt that Kennedy,
himself a veteran movie mogul, might be interested in backing the
enterprise. Hooker's memory of that meeting is quite interesting,
particularly in the context of the thesis presented in these pages. To
appreciate just precisely where Hooker was coming from, however, it is
appropriate to review Hooker's remarkable background.
UNABASHEDLY ANTI-JEWISH
Born to wealth and privilege and a descendent of one of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence, Hooker had a varied career. Not only did he
act on the Broadway stage, but he also modeled in cigarette advertisements.
Hooker also served for a period as a talent agent with the powerful firm