Caroline Kennedy is speaking out on her father’s secret recordings.
The audio tapes of former President John F. Kennedy, in which he discusses key events including Vietnam, the arms race and the Cuban missile crisis, were recently released. His daughter wrote an introduction to the new book “Listening In,” which includes more than 260 hours of transcribed conversations from inside the Kennedy White House
When asked by Hardball host Chris Matthews about the recordings on the Cuban missile crisis and why the audiotapes are so important, Kennedy said “I think we can learn so much from the past.”
“You know, studying this crisis is really an exercise in studying leadership and decision-making and right now we’re really close to another presidential election. And I think when you’re inside a crisis like this…you understand the kind of complexity of these issues,” she added.
In the book’s introduction, Kennedy said she was “always told my father installed secret Oval Office recording devices after the Bay of Pigs disaster so that he could have an accurate account of who said what, in case of any later disputes as to the exact nature of conversations.” She revealed to Matthews that she’ll be campaigning with President Obama in Virginia and New Hampshire over the next few weeks. Kennedy also took a jab at Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, saying, “I think that we need to stick with somebody who has told us where he stands.”Recommended
