JFK: A Presidency Revealed (2003)

Writer: David C. Taylor                                   Cinematography: Harrison Moore
Film Score: David Cottrell                               Editor: Patrick J. Donnelly

The History Channel has had a dubious reputation for producing documentaries because of their seeming right-wing agenda. They have, however, done some interesting work at times. One of the most impressive was their film on the Soviet space program, History Undercover: Soviet Space Disasters. As far as JFK goes, their program on the assassination was pure government propaganda in perpetuating the lone-gunman theory with Oswald as the killer. In fact, when they used the Zapruder film on that program they completely left out the headshot because it shows him being thrown backward by the gunshot from the grassy knoll. JKF: A Presidency Revealed makes the same assertion and claims again that Oswald was the shooter, even though the FBI tests on him showed no gunshot residue on his face that would have been consistent with firing a rifle. But it’s only a minute of the show. As for the rest of the program, it’s a very good look at the presidency of one of our greatest presidents.

That’s a bold statement, but one that is borne out by the evidence. Had a man been in office who had less fortitude, Nixon for instance, it is almost a certainty that the world would have been plunged into a nuclear war of some magnitude. On at least three occasions John F. Kennedy defied his military advisors and refused to follow the belligerent, right wing, military-industrial complex party line in order to do what was best for the country and the world. But it wasn’t an easy road. Coming into the office he took some brutal hits and initially his inexperience threatened to overwhelm him. Ironically, however, the Bay of Pigs debacle is probably more responsible than anything for his ability to distrust what the military was convinced had to be done and instead do what his moral compass led him to do. At the same time the youth of he and Jackie and their young children was transforming the white house and the country’s image of the presidency.

There are some good interview subjects for the documentary as well. Robert McNamara gives commentary on Kennedy’s foreign policy, but Teddy Kennedy also makes some nice observations on his brother’s presidency. I could have done without Oleg Cassini’s interview about Jackie’s dresses, but I guess that was part of her mystique. There was also a considerable discussion of Kennedy’s physical problems and several mentions of his dalliances with women. The other aspect of his presidency that comes out is his reliance on brother Robert Kennedy and the real teamwork the two engaged in--though not personally. It was rather surprising to learn that RFK was never invited once up to the residence, but perhaps that’s understandable given the amount of time they worked together during the day and spend together with family. As a bonus, two of the A&E Biographies are included, one on President Kennedy and the other on his father Joe. JKF: A Presidency Revealed does not have a conservative bias and finally offers an objective view of a great president, one that in retrospect deserves to be considered among our greatest.