History Rewritten

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2004)

Kenneth O'Donnell - played by Keven Costner - was appointments secretary to JFK - a very minor functionary who was occasionally seen at White House press conferences. How someone tied him in with the Cuban Missile Crisis is beyond imagination. History was rewritten big on this one - and the event is only 44 years old.
The odd thing is - the true story on the missile crisis is actually far more intriguing and interesting. For instance, no mention is made of the trade-off in the real story. I.e., JFK's withdrawal of Jupiter missiles already stationed in Turkey in exchange for Krushchev's withdrawal of missiles in Cuba. Also, there was some very interesting brinkmanship in which Robert Kennedy conveyed to the Russians that JFK was losing control of the military and that they might strike out on their own - something the Russians would have been eager to believe since it would have been so much like their their own government/military.
As for O'Donnell, he was a hanger-on around the White House who, I assumed, got the job as a family friend or Irish relative or some such. He had as much to do with Cuba as the White House gardening staff.