Caroline Kennedy Talks Jackie

A quiet rumble began to fill Lisner Auditorium on Monday night as people began to arrive almost an hour in advance to hear the main event, "A Conversation with Caroline Kennedy," presented by the Politics and Prose bookstore in conjunction with GW. Mrs. Kennedy visited GW, her mother's alma mater, to discuss the newly released, nearly eight-and-a-half hour recordings of her mother, Jacqueline Kennedy, and the accompanying book for which she wrote a foreword.

Michael Beschloss, a historian who specializes in presidential history, started the discussion and talked about Jacqueline's uninhibited interview with Arthur Schlesinger and her interest in historic preservation. Schlesinger, a historian and special assistant to President Kennedy, decided after his assassination that it was important to capture history on tape.

Schlesinger began the extensive process of interviewing nearly a thousand people who knew Mr. Kennedy in an attempt to create an oral history of the Kennedy administration. The centerpiece of this project was of course, Jacqueline Kennedy herself. Caroline kept the interviews sealed for decades until she decided they were fit to be released. This year was right time, she decided, as it is the 50th anniversary of her father's inauguration.

Caroline noted that her father's presidency is quickly "becoming a part of history rather than living memory" but that his ideals and words remain "as vital as ever." Returning to her mother, Caroline said that once Jacqueline finished the seven interviews, she "sealed the audio tapes in the Kennedy library and put the transcripts in a safety deposit vault in New York." Apart from Caroline and her brother John, few people knew of the tapes existence.

Caroline said she worried that listening to her mother's interviews would be upsetting. When she did listen to the tapes, she was surprised by "how much they revealed that wasn't on the page." She could tell when her mother was getting tired, annoyed, or when she decided not to talk about something.

In response to some of the criticisms that the tapes drew, Caroline stated that her mother broke the mold by giving such a candid interview. 


Caroline's most difficult decision was whether to edit the interviews. She claimed some issues haven't withstood the test of time, some comments might have been embarrassing to her mother and she would no longer support some of her views. Caroline came to the conclusion that she didn't have the right to alter the historical record.

Caroline stayed afterwards to sign copies of the book, Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy.

Carter Discusses His Term as President

Former President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter spoke about his new book, White House Diaries, Monday evening at the Lincoln Theatre on U Street. The event, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, was originally scheduled to occur on September 29^th at Lisner Auditorium, but Carter fell ill and postponed the trip.

Carter discussed his opinions on domestic and global events including the construction of the Panama Canal, the Iranian hostage crisis, and the Camp David negotiations. Carter stated he does not regret any decisions he made as president. Carter also explained his opinions on Obama’s presidency, the ongoing talks to ratify the START treaty, and the ongoing energy crisis.

Speaking about the current polarization of political parties, Carter said he feels the divide has led to policy gridlock among other policy-halting schemes. Carter expressed that he was fortunate to have a Republican leadership in Congress during his presidency that was willing to work toward bipartisanship. Obama, Carter claims, does not have this luxury.

Following the event, Carter signed copies of his new book. On Tuesday morning, Carter continued his D.C. trip with a book signing event at the bookstore Politics and Prose.