Killing Kennedy

1

Morning, Lee.

What's in the package?

Curtain rods.

Good morning. Hello?

And here is the President

of the United States.

And what a crowd and what a

tremendous welcome he's getting now.

We can...

And there's Jackie.

She's getting just

as big a welcome.

And the crowd is

absolutely going wild.

This is a friendly crowd

in downtown Dallas

as the President and

the first lady pass by.

There is Lyndon Johnson

and Lady Bird passing by.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you for seeing

me, Mr. Snyder.

My name is Lee Oswald, and I've come

to renounce my American citizenship.

Why would you do that?

I'm a Marxist.

You're a Marine, for God's sakes.

Marines don't defect.

I've seen enough of

democratic society,

of capitalistic society.

My mother worked her whole life

making profits for capitalists.

They push you down and they

never appreciate who you are.

Have a seat.

How old are you?

Twenty. 20 years and 13 days.

You're young, you're confused,

you're hurt, you're angry.

This is not an emotional decision.

I have studied Marx.

You don't even know

what life is like here.

In six months you're

gonna regret what...

I've told the Soviets

that I know things.

I had a very

high-security clearance.

I was a radar technician for

the United States government.

I am valuable.

You'd be a traitor. I believe

that what I'm doing is right.

And now the Soviets will see that

I'm serious. This will show them.

Mr. Oswald, when something like

this is done, it can't be undone.

No one ever listens to me.

Nobody believes me.

Now, I've made my decision,

and I'm through.

Well, if you're serious, you take

a few days and you come back.

A reporter, a young woman,

very attractive, asked me,

"Senator Kennedy, how did you

get to become a war hero?"

And I told her that it

was completely involuntary.

They sunk my boat.

They're ready for you, Jack.

This was supposed to be Joe.

He was the oldest.

Father always thought

it would be Joe.

And he was shot down,

and we were all,

stunned.

Cut into the way things

were supposed to go.

Never supposed to be me,

but it is.

It was always supposed to be you.

Are you ready?

I am today announcing

my candidacy

for the presidency

of the United States.

The very first returns are now

beginning to pour in substantially,

and those in just a moment.

So first of all, let us

go to our summary board.

Bobby's got Lyndon

on the phone for you.

How's it going in there, Kenny?

It's close.

We knew it would be.

It's gonna come down to

Illinois, Texas and California.

Well, we're gonna need Texas.

How is he? Is he jolly?

It's Lyndon.

Hello, Lyndon.

I see we're winning in Pennsylvania,

but what the hell

happened to you in Ohio?

Well, how's it going

down there?

Well, I'm happy to tell you,

Texas is gonna be close,

but safe.

Well, all right. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Swear to God, Jack.

Swear to God.

If that's all it takes

to make you president

is to make that son of a b*tch Lyndon

Johnson vice president, then so be it.

It's the best deal

we ever made.

Gradually throughout the

night, he's widened that lead.

He's about a half million

ahead right now.

In Connecticut, Kennedy

took that state by 9:00.

He rode up a very, very big...

Jack, look at that!

You've won Connecticut.

You're president now.

No, no, no.

But look at the lead you've got!

Well, yeah, sure,

in the Northeast,

but we need to wait till the

Midwest and then the West.

It's gonna be a long night.

Well, tell me in the morning

who wins, Mr. President.

Don't say that!

So, my fellow Americans,

ask not what your country

can do for you.

Ask what you can do

for your country.

Dance.

Would you dance?

Marina.

Lee.

No, I'm not Chinese.

I'm American.

And my coworkers at the

radio factory call me Alik.

Marina.

A beautiful Russian girl.

I wanted to study in Moscow, but

they sent me to this horrible place.

I like it better now.

May I...

May I kiss you?

Mr. President.

I'm sorry, but we got

a major problem in Cuba.

The invasion

of Cuba has created

a highly delicate and difficult

situation for the United States.

Cuba has said that

the invasion was mounted

from Florida and

from Guatemala.

The United States has denied

this, so has Guatemala.

Castro knew the

battle plan beforehand,

prepared an ambush and assigned himself

a prominent role in the battle.

Right now, the rebels are

pinned down here, on the beach.

Castro himself is there.

Castro? On the beach?

In a T-34 tank.

I speak for the joint chiefs,

and I think CIA agrees as well,

it is imperative that the United

States provide air support.

Well, I don't want the United

States involved in this.

We are involved in this.

We trained these rebels.

You approved the mission.

And you told me

the plan would work.

You told me those men will be

met by anti-Castro forces.

And where are they?

Are they there?

Mr. President, are you aware there will

be significant casualties sustained?

We need to act, and

we need to act now.

Beaches were not prepared

by air or artillery bombardment.

Those able to move beyond the beaches

were trapped in swamp or high growth

which was burned off,

and the fire forced them out one by one

into the hands of Castro's forces,

prisoners of war, dupes of

the United States government.

Jack?

Jack, what is it?

Jack, it's me.

You can talk to me.

It's a catastrophe.

The one hour of air support

that I ordered got screwed up.

The two units didn't connect because

of a one-hour time difference.

These incompetent son of a b*tches,

they can't even tell time!

I don't know why I ever

listened to them.

You couldn't have known.

The President should know.

How could I be so stupid?

Jack, you're being too hard on yourself.

But they said it.

They said I was

too young, too soft...

About communism.

And I told them I was ready.

And they trusted me.

They still do.

There are men dying

on those beaches,

right now.

I'm supposed to be the most

powerful man in the world,

and I...

I'm impotent.

Well, I'll tell you what.

This is the last time anyone's gonna

make a decision like that for me.

And here on the

beaches around the Bay of Pigs,

the invasion floundered and the

search for scapegoats began.

The issue has been sharpened

further by disclosure

of the President's

behind-the-scenes role.

The record will reflect that we at State

opposed the plan as a grave mistake.

That's the most meaningless

bullshit I ever heard.

You people are so anxious

to cover your own asses,

all you want to do is dump

this on the President.

Well, you bright fellows

got my brother into this.

Only three months into office

and now, thanks to you,

the President of the United States is

regarded as a paper tiger by the Russians.

Well, there's an old saying

that victory has

a thousand fathers,

but defeat is an orphan.

The responsibility's mine.

I am the president.

I didn't do nothing to you.

Spy! American spy!

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