Killing Kennedy

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 bitch 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 bitches, 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!

Spy!

You're back, like a bad penny.

Told you you'd regret it.

It's not what I thought it would be.

And it's so damn cold.

I don't think I can take another winter here.

Can you guarantee me there'll be no legal proceedings against me?

I don't see why there would be.

Ironically, because you failed to return,

you never officially renounced your citizenship.

Can I bring my wife Marina?

Your wife's a Russian. She'll require an exit visa from the Soviet authorities.

I want to bring my wife back to the United States.

You're gonna love America, Mama. I promise you.

English no good, have no clothes.

You're gonna be fine. And they'll love you there.

And we'll be happier there, I promise.

Alik, you like little bird.

Where you happy?

A wife belongs with her husband, and a baby with her father.

Junka needs her papa.

But, I would say that being president is a fine job.

It's a fine job.

I get to walk to work and the pay is nice.

You look so beautiful.

Would you tell Mrs. Baldridge that we are on our way down?

Yes, Mr. President.

Mr. Oswald. Please!

Mr. Oswald, are you a communist?