Kennedy Family

Washington -- I WANT YOU to be careful about your profanity," President John F. Kennedy told Dave Powers, a confidant, in the Oval Office one day in 1962, "because I don't want to hear your bad words coming back at me."That puzzled Mr. Powers. According to a JFK Library oral historian, he then went to Kenneth O'Donnell, JFK's most intimate political aide, and said, "Kenny, what the hell is he talking about?" Mr. O'Donnell replied: "Well, he's got this taping system installed in there."That nugget about the first systematic invasion of privacy by a U.S. president came up in research I did after the recent release of tape recordings by the Kennedy Library regarding the Cuban missile crisis.

WASHINGTON -- It had been nearly 35 years since John F. Kennedy Jr. romped through the private quarters of the White House, 35 years since Camelot's violent end.But when President Clinton granted the younger Kennedy a sentimental tour of the residence area at the White House in March 1998, the memories came rushing back."

"Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector," by James Hilty.Temple University Press. 576 pages. $34.95Before there was Janet Reno, before Richard Nixon's Saturday Night Massacre and before the special prosecutor law itself, there was Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who saw not just his job but his mission in life as protecting his brother, who happened to be president of the United States.A thousand and one Kennedy books are out there, one for every day of John F. Kennedy's mythical reign. But this one, written by a historian, actually provides a useful service.

WASHINGTON -- In eight months of searing coverage, the rape case against William Kennedy Smith focused constant attention on his uncle, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and the rest of his family and spurred a jolting reappraisal of their contributions.In some ways, the case of Florida vs. Smith represented a Pyrrhic victory for the Democratic senator from Massachusetts and other members of America's most famous political family, analysts suggest."This verdict is almost beside the point," said Todd Domke, a Republican political consultant.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Before 200 journalists held back by yellow crime-scene tape and a handful of Palm Beach County courthouse workers in Halloween costumes, William Kennedy Smith said yesterday that he hoped to find "six people with an open mind" who will clear him of rape charges.Before he entered criminal court for jury selection, Mr. Smith, 31, flanked by his mother, aunt, two sisters and brother, said in a slightly trembling voice, "I'm innocent of the charges. I'm confident that when the process is completed, I'll be found innocent.

HYANNIS PORT, Mass. -- At St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, where for 75 years the Kennedy family has worshiped, wed and mourned, the Rev. Edward Byington asked midway through yesterday's morning Mass: "Why are there calamities in life?"Even for the faithful, it is the most unfathomable of questions. When Byington's somber congregation of residents and tourists bowed their heads in silent prayer, some said they asked for a miracle. Some said they prayed for strength.So began another hot day on Cape Cod of waiting to learn the fate of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette.

HYANNIS, MASS. - On an hour-long tour of Hyannis Harbor aboard the 1911 coastal steamer Prudence, a guide enthusiastically points out the ancient dunes where Indians shucked clams, the spit of land that once stretched clear across to nearby Great Island, and the Prudence's romantic history as a submarine-watcher during World War I. The passengers don't pay much attention. At least not until he utters the words everyone has been waiting for: "Kennedy compound." Suddenly the tourists strain against the starboard railing, counting chimneys, as instructed, to discern one house from another.

The Kennedys were gathered in Hyannis Port yesterday for what was to be a joyous occasion -- the wedding of Rory, the daughter Robert F. Kennedy never lived to see. Instead, they found themselves uniting in the all-too-familiar rituals of grief in what seems likely to become the latest in the unending series of tragedies that has struck this family."

MARTIN O'MALLEY said he'd support his party's nominee for governor this year, but he didn't exactly reach for Kathleen K. Townsend's hand and raise it for the TV cameras in the ballroom, did he? Our charismatic mayor will not challenge Townsend and the Kennedy clan by entering the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and he said he was doing this for the good of the city, which is admirable. But excuse me for asking: How does dissing the woman who could possibly be Maryland's next governor serve the good of the city?

IF DEMOCRATS try to rewrite next year's election calendar, they will cloak their self-serving maneuver in the rhetoric of good government: People will have more time to consider their choices, people want more time to find out where candidates stand on the issues, etc. The real reasons, of course, are purely political. Democrats believe an earlier party primary and a longer general election season may be useful in a year when intraparty competition could leave hard feelings among Democratic pols and voters.