cal plums. Having achieved this turnaround,nFDR promptly dropped Kennedy.nAfter the United States was propelledninto war by Japan and Hitler,nKennedy was ignored until the beginningnof Roosevelt’s fourth term. ThennRoosevelt put on his charm for the lastntime, and for the last time Kennedyncapitulated.nX hat is the outline of Beschloss’sntale. It is well documented and studdednwith illustrious names. Mr. Krock ofnthe New York Times was gulled bynKennedy; Henry and Clare Luce werencourted, Lindbergh found agreement forna time; so did Father Coughlin. Bigcitynbosses—Buckley in the Bronx, Dalynin Chicago, O’Connell in Albany—allnhelped Joe Kennedy promote his sonnJohn into the Presidency years later,ndue to their shared dislike of EleanornRoosevelt. Reading every twist and turnnis like watching two scorpions in a bottle.nThe flavor of the 20’s comes backnin an oddly unsettling way. That wasnan era of crude racial epithets and harshnlanguage, of squalid scrambles fornmoney and position, when men behavednlike alley cats, and with as much selfconsciousness.nRoosevelt was part ofnthat period: he took many inept and expensivenflyers in Wall Street and was anpartner with many sleazy individuals.nKennedy blossomed in that climate, andnin Hollywood, and in radio—and laternin real estate and oil. Both men wouldndo anything to get whatever theynwanted. They knew each other. WhennFDR chided Kennedy about one of hisnmistresses and advised that he keep hernout of sight Kennedy said, “Not till younget rid of Missy le Hand!”nThe primary difference between themnwas that Roosevelt had been raised tonnoblesse oblige. He considered Hitlernan upstart on the world stage, and setnout to emulate his mentor, WoodrownWilson. In the end he brought back allnthe Wilsoniana: the League of Nations,nthe soaring rodomontade, the regimentation,nthe smallness toward his critics,nthe ability to fool parvenus and thenChronicles of Cultureninability to get along with his peers.nOver and beyond the historic eventsnwith which Roosevelt was engaged andnin which, to a lesser extent, Kennedynfigured loom some larger and less-oftennotednrealities which are barely grazednby Beschloss’s carefully neutral, academicallynneutered judgment. Thesenrealities are in the area of character.nMr. Roosevelt was a great leader whosencontempt for the intelligence of othernmen led him into repeated lies, disguises,nfrauds and deceits. His method of confrontingnthe nazi horror was, likenChurchill’s, stained by a willingness tonget into bed with Stalin. Neither FDRnnor Churchill believed we could defeatnthe dictators on our own. His conductnas President violated constitutional limitsnand the rules of decency in many ofnhis dealings. Before he appointed Kennedynan ambassador he made him dropnhis pants, then commented that thenBoston Irishman was too bowlegged tonwear the required knee breeches at thenCourt of St. James. Kennedy, havingnendured that coarse and demeaningntrick, grew ass’s ears by rushing out tonget permission from the British to wearntrousers to Court.nKennedy, whose character was nonbetter than his master’s, cursed Rooseveltnbehind his back and crawled beforenhim to his face. Both men combinednagainst Coughlin, to whom they toldnlies. Both men used whoever they couldnas an instrument in their games ofnpower. It is the claim of the Rooseveltncultists and the Kennedy-family cultistsnthat the flaws of their heroes are for-nIn the forthcomin{» issue of Chronicles of Culture:nCultural FascismnornThe Librariansn”In jn human life, noi all is |x>ssihli. oiiK scirnt Dtticlingnwli.if that siMiii will Ix- anil structuiinj; onf lik- so thatnas much ; lo teims viilh lealiK and ofnmasiciinj; oni’s own Kii’ntit I’hi lpL’s ot thoiCLsnaai!ah1c towomtn have inckeil (.)iani>i’d siiui the adc’ntnof feminism, but ihal sini;l( rialit in itstlf does not allei.nnor should it obscurt. the fair that clioin is still choiienand thoiLc, in pursuit of selt ik tmition is still an aiduousnand SiC’lf-iniliated prociss lo suiijitst otlitrvusi seemsna rathei blatant misf)Lri.e]5tion ot the human conditionnItself “nfrom “(choices &. Sclf-Dcfinirion”nb Christina MurphjnAlso:nOpinions & Views—Commendables—In tocusnWaste of Money—I’erceptibles—The AmericannProscenium—Stage—Screen—ArtnMusic—Correspondence-Liberal CulturenJournalismnnn