Introduction

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was mysteriously shot in the head while riding through the streets of downtown Dallas, TX. While there is no denying Kennedy was assassinated, it is widely believed that the murder of President Kennedy was far too sophisticated to be carried out by a lone conspirator. Further, adding to the suspicion, everyone even slightly connected to the assassin met their demise quickly. Let us examine the belief that the “Texas Connection” within Kennedy’s own administration including V.P., LBJ and Director of the CIA, George Bush are responsible for the death of the POTUS. Theories for motive include political gain, or in consequence for diverting billions of dollars from the pocket books of the military and congress elite into the space program, or because his influence grew to dangerous heights, rivaling that of Pre-Civil War Lincoln and even George Washington!

Character Analysis

Who was President John F. Kennedy behind closed doors? To find out, the first-hand publicated account by Kennedy insider, and Washington neighbor, Benjamin Bradlee, is highly recommended. “Conversations with Kennedy” paints a vivid portrait of Kennedy as an all-American ambitious young senator and a heroic WWII veteran. Mr. Kennedy looked good in a uniform and was a natural lady’s man. He was known for making light and joking during tense and stressful moments. During the final vote tallying for the presidency, while John, on the phone with Bobby, not knowing if he had won the presidency at the moment asks his company coolly to refer to him as "The Prez [Sic]” because “he don’t know if he is President yet” (Bradlee).

From his latter-years in the Senate, while running and through his murder, Kennedy was a progressive idealist. His presidency was coined “Camelot” by his wife, Jackie Kennedy, in a post assassination interview with LIFE. This imparted on him a legacy of a heroic President who wanted to make America and the world a better place. It is rumored that in 1960 then Sen. Kennedy placed a call to officials in Georgia calling for the release of the imprisoned Dr. King, even when the very idea to align yourself with King was unpopular, in 60’s era Washington, and most importantly, possibly meant losing votes (Presidential). “He even called Coretta Scott King, to express his sympathy for her husband’s plight.”(Bradlee). John’s morality is evident. Present day political analysts suggest this event actually gave Kennedy the boost he needed for victory in the northern states (Presidential).

Younger and a better looking hotshot than the rest of Washington, Kennedy graced the cover of TIME magazine more than ten times and took his Presidency very seriously. No man can fully comprehend the rigors, and stress, of the most powerful leader of the world, and late in his Presidency the toll was evident. Literally, he was able to tolerate stress and trouble from every angle. The spread of Communism to Cuba and Indochina, as well as domestic scandal, on top of dealing with his Addison’s disease, and his own vice as a womanizer, racial tensions in the South, the list goes on, and all suggest Kennedy’s resolve as a President. It may seem that JFK inherited a raw deal, a nation in ruins, but then again, what President does inherit the idealized perfect union formulated by the Constitution? Kennedy was very balanced:

“Kennedy was a President, a typical family man, worried about his wife’s charge accounts, while wrestling the giants of the steel industry, taking time out to relax at a shoot ‘em up movie, while dealing with Russia and ballistic missiles, according to Conversations with Kennedy.” (Bradlee).

In late 1962, President Kennedy made an announcement that billions of tax Dollars would be poured into space exploration, and the public loved him for it. Labeled a visionary and progressivist, Kennedy's adoration knew no limits; he could do no wrong. Consider a present day politician publicly vowing to divert billions of your tax dollars from Congress, from the military, from your community and schools, and investing it into the exploration of the unknown; it is political suicide. Again, it is possible Kennedy's good looks, military record, and likeability, played a crucial role in his popularity and swayed public opinion in his favor.

Kennedy crushed Nixon in a nationally televised, highly publicized presidential debate. His youthfulness, poise, good looks, and military service, won the admiration of Americans everywhere and eventually the presidency. While Nixon embarrassingly was the complete contrary, ultimately lost.

How could Kennedy be so irresponsible, and allow himself, the most powerful man in the world, to become such an easy target? Call it hubris, ignorance, overconfidence, all three definitely are one in the same and have the ability to blind a man. The normally calculated Kennedy chose to ride in a convertible automobile through the streets of Dallas, Texas, where he met his doom. Shot in the head, John was unable to see this coming may have been due to his lack of age or wisdom in the sense that he was unable to comprehend who his enemies were in Washington, unable to tell friend from foe. Not everyone loved him in Washington. The fact is, whoever was responsible for Kennedy’s assassination must have really hated and despised his presidency, thereby ending the story of the “Camelot years” and prompting the word “Camelot’s” evolution, to reference Kennedy's failed idealism. Simple and plain, Kennedy made too many enemies in Washington, surely inadvertently. Kennedy and was too trusting and made the mistake of thinking the public’s adoration for him and Washington’s adoration for him were one in the same. Kennedy was ahead of his time and would have made a great president post-Soviet Union, his idealism, youthfulness, and mistake of trusting the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA’s) “Texas Connection” was ultimately his downfall.

Conspiracy Description (Main Idea and Details with Survey Results)

The assassination of John F. Kennedy remains shrouded in mystery. It is a fact Oswald the only man with intimate details involved in the case was silenced quickly, and strategically, in such a way suggestive of a clandestine agency with superior domestic resources, military precision, and influence, who disapproved of Kennedy’s leadership as president. Keep in mind, one theory asks which politicians would actually benefit from JFK’s death? The next theory tells the cause of Kennedy’s death is his ambitious, and expensive space program, which dumped billions of tax dollars from the military and congressional elite into the unknown, into space. The last theory is JFK’s influence with the American public was too dangerous, and his potential political legacy also threatened to overshadow those that craved power in establishment Washington.

The first conspiracy theory proposed is that Kennedy’s own Vice President(VP), Lyndon B. Johnson and Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) director George Bush Sr., both from Texas, are responsible, and both would benefit politically from the death of JFK and in fact did. Following Kennedy’s assassination Johnson assumes the presidency. At this point George Bush is working for the CIA in the shadows not yet director, but eventually became director then president. George Bush is an anomaly, the fact that he has no flashbulb memory, not remembering where he was the day Kennedy was assassinated is quite strange and unbelievable (Kelley). George Bush claims he was not in Dallas that “Friday in ‘63”, He does not remember where he was. Yet, there is photographic evidence that suggest Bush’s presence, and a live op being conducted (Schedule A). Oswald was nothing more than a patsy being played like a fiddle by the CIA's Texas Connection.

Another theory is that Kennedy’s space program was too expensive and ambitious, committing America to an expensive unrealistic space war with the soviets, which ultimately led to his downfall. On May 25, 1961, JFK stood before congress and asked for an additional $7-$9 billion to compete with the communists for space exploration superiority (Library). Kennedy pledged that the nation would land a man on the moon before the Soviets, losing the space race against the Soviets would have meant more than just a scientific defeat. Winning served to symbolize not only a scientific victory, but also to instill a kind of public confidence in the fact that America could beat the soviets, and that if need be, we could also win a war. With the American public’s psyche on the line some criticized Kennedy for pitting the U.S. in direct competition with the Soviets and feared the worse if we failed to reach his goal. Kennedy was quite the ambitious, young-reckless, hotshot, establishment Washington fears every election cycle. If America lost the space race, we would have lost everything!

The last theory is the threat of Kennedy’s influence and potential legacy grew to dangerous heights, heights that Washington would be unable to control. The man was a political force that could do no wrong, even when he did (Schedule B). JFK was the kind of president that united all people. Throughout American history we see a phenomenon with figures that garner influence with the American public suddenly assassinated, a sort of inspirational celebrity status, but, much more than that, because people act on the whims of their speech. Kennedy was riling up the youngsters, a powerful American demographic just as Dr. King was riling up African American youth, another powerful American demographic. Nothing happens by coincidence in American politics, nothing.

Younger better looking than the rest of Washington, Kennedy was a WWII veteran and boy did he looked good in his uniform. The nation first fell in love with Kennedy, when he ran for president, in the first televised debate, in American history. Kennedy embarrassingly defeated VP Nixon by virtue of good looks, charisma, and composure. Nixon, the complete opposite, was effortlessly embarrassed on national television by Kennedy (Debate). Kennedy’s heroic upset over VP Nixon will forever illustrate the power of image, charisma, and composure in American politics, and marked the beginning of establishment Washington’s resentment of him. This kind of popular idealist president is rare, and great at creating enemies, putting Kennedy in the company of Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan. JFK graced the cover of Time magazine more than 10 Times and was a political rock star, leaving others like Nixon and Johnson in the shadows of his young, growing legacy.

According to a 2016 survey of 20 college students 16 do not believe Oswald acted alone, the remaining 4 did not know enough to decide (Rangel). Johnson and Bush are pegged as the masterminds in JFK conspiracy lore. Take a closer look, both men are federal government and have ties to the CIA and Texas. Bush denies being in Dallas the day of the assassination, despite photographic evidence (Schedule A). LBJ assumes the presidency, ran the country how he saw fit, and forged his de-facto legacy. No doubt establishment Washington perceived Kennedy’s idealism, charisma, and foreign policy as weakness, and a threat to national security, in an age of impending war with Russia. American leaders ultimately eliminated Kennedy for the security of this nation.

Kennedy worked to change the world for the better, brought people together, set and achieved American goals, and served as an excellent president in an age where the threat of communist global domination loomed in the American psyche. By 1963, an American renaissance was underway with Kennedy at the forefront, when his life was tragically cut short. Kennedy never lived to realize his dream of American ideals, and greatness, and of man on the moon, turn into reality; therein lies the true tragedy of King Arthur and his Camelot campaign.

Conclusion

On November 22, 1963, the nation lost its beloved president to a cold, calculated, and masterfully planned assassination. Today the coup d’état of John F. Kennedy’s presidency is commonly viewed as the most brazen removal of a political figure in U.S. history. Theories why include:

1. Members of the CIA’s Texas Connection gained politically.

2. Jfk’s assassination was a consequence of diverting billions of dollars of funding from the military and congressional elite and into the space program.

3. Was Kennedy murdered out of envy? Did his potential legacy and ability to outshine the rest of Washington lead to his demise? Not to mention his favor with the American public at heights rivaling that of Lincoln and Washington.

All evidence supports the belief that the CIA’s Texas Connection within Kennedy’s own administration had more reason to remove Kennedy from power than anyone. Not willing to risk re-election and another four years of JFK, the company did what it does best. Topple governments and insert a leader of its own choosing. Fifty-three years later only a whisper remains of the conspiracy of John f. Kennedy’s failed presidency and what could have been.