Undated letter to JFK from John Kerry

[mandelion]

I didn't see this posted yet but found it interesting:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&ncid=703&e=7&u=/ap/20040726/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_two_jfks_letter

Text of John Kerry Letter to John Kennedy

32 minutes ago


By The Associated Press

The text of an undated letter written by John Kerry (news - web sites), on his embossed Yale stationery, to President Kennedy. The original is kept at the Kennedy presidential library. The punctuation in the letter is as Kerry wrote it.



___

Dear Mr. President,

Having met you several times this summer at Hammersmith Farm, and having worked for your brother in Massachusetts during that same time, I am to say the least, an ardent Kennedy supporter. My remarks however, are at no point based on this fact, and are as best as possible from the bystanders point of view.

I wish to apologize for the deplorable behavior of some of my fellow undergraduates here at Yale. Your very recent visit has left behind it much discussion — not on its political, but social aspects. Gradually the realization of the disrespect shown the office of the President of the United States is sinking in to those who are the offenders. It does little good for a non-offender to write and apologize for the acts of others, but perhaps it will do something to say that people here are aware of the disgrace they brought on the University and themselves. It is possible that you personally were not bothered by what happened here, but the insult was made and there is no one here who is not now conscious of it.

May I also take this opportunity to thank you for a very unforgetable and exciting time the weekend of the America's Cub races.

With best wishes for the future,

respectfully,

John F. Kerry

[TrueAmerican]

1. Unwritten?

Undated, you meant.

[mandelion]

2. Sorry about that..

As I was finishing it up, the girl I babysit at times showed up and I typed in the title hastily.

[mom cat]

5. Welcome to DU mandelion! The girl you babysit is going to be

politically savvy. :hi:

PS It was a neat post, and does show a sense of genuine respect.

[mandelion]

7. thanks :)

I babysit a 5 year old and my 7 year old lately. My 7 year old is really into watching things about the election and watched the John Kerry war special on MSNBC with me last night.

She's as fascinated with politics as I was when I was her age. :D

[bleedingheart]

3. If anything it makes him look good...he apologized for behavior

that he did not participate in. That shows class.

[tooie]

4. proper etiquette...

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

9. It makes him look like a smarmy little butt-kisser.

Jack Kennedy was not stupid. Whatever it was that happened at Yale, he surely knew that a crowd of right-wing cromags doesn't speak for anyone outside said crowd.

If Kerry didn't have anything to do with the behaviour of his schoolmates, then why did he bother writing that letter? Why did he feel it was any of his damn business? It looks to me like Kerry was using this as an excuse to suck up to a potential mentor.

[JI7]

10. the disrupters were Kerry's friends

not just other students at the school, but his own friends. they weren't big democrats as kerry was but kerry did good in defending the party.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

12. Ah, that makes a bit more sense.

I got the sense from the letter that it was just a random pack of goons. If they were close friends of Kerry's, then I can understand him being ashamed of their behaviour. I still think he was sucking up, though.

[jimshoes]

6. Wonder who the disruptors were

although it's not too hard to imagine.

[Cocoa]

8. my guess...

anti-Civil Rights thugs. Maybe George W. was among them.

[JI7]

11. no , they were kerry's friends

which is why he wrote the letter. not just other students.