19-12-2013, 04:05 AM
" . . . [Before the assassination,] Lee Harvey Oswald had become the most rejected man of his time. It is not too much to say that he was the diametric opposite of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
"Oswald was aware of this. Significantly, he attributed the President's success to family wealth; as he saw it, Kennedy had had all the breaks. Like many
delusions this one had a kernel of truth. The President was ten times a millionaire. But that was only one of a thousand differences between them.
One man had almost everything and the other almost nothing. Kennedy, for example, was spectacularly handsome. Although Oswald's voice hadn't
yet lost its adolescent tone, he was already balding, and he had the physique of a ferret. The President had been a brave officer during the war,
and while strapped to a bed of convalescence he had written a book which won a Pulitzer Prize. Oswald's record in the peacetime service
had been disgraceful, and he was barely literate. As Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, Kennedy was all-powerful. Oswald was impotent.
Kennedy was cheered, Oswald ignored. Kennedy was noble, Oswald ignoble. Kennedy was beloved, Oswald despised. Kennedy was a hero;
Oswald was a victim." -- William Manchester, THE DEATH OF A PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 20-NOVEMBER 25, 1963 (1967), p. 93
At least the last sentence is correct.
"Oswald was aware of this. Significantly, he attributed the President's success to family wealth; as he saw it, Kennedy had had all the breaks. Like many
delusions this one had a kernel of truth. The President was ten times a millionaire. But that was only one of a thousand differences between them.
One man had almost everything and the other almost nothing. Kennedy, for example, was spectacularly handsome. Although Oswald's voice hadn't
yet lost its adolescent tone, he was already balding, and he had the physique of a ferret. The President had been a brave officer during the war,
and while strapped to a bed of convalescence he had written a book which won a Pulitzer Prize. Oswald's record in the peacetime service
had been disgraceful, and he was barely literate. As Chief Executive and Commander in Chief, Kennedy was all-powerful. Oswald was impotent.
Kennedy was cheered, Oswald ignored. Kennedy was noble, Oswald ignoble. Kennedy was beloved, Oswald despised. Kennedy was a hero;
Oswald was a victim." -- William Manchester, THE DEATH OF A PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 20-NOVEMBER 25, 1963 (1967), p. 93
At least the last sentence is correct.