Book details JFK affair with White House teen intern

[oberliner]

Excerpt:

In an excerpt published by The Post, Alford wrote that she met Kennedy just four days into her internship, and that he invited her the following day on a personal tour of the White House residence that included first lady Jackie Kennedy's bedroom.

Fifty years on, Alford -- now a 69-year-old grandmother and retired New York City church administrator -- writes that she lost her virginity to Kennedy that day.

"Slowly, he unbuttoned the top of my shirtdress and touched my breasts," Alford -- at the time Mimi Beardsley -- wrote in the excerpt.

"Then he reached up between my legs and started to pull off my underwear. I finished unbuttoning my shirtdress and let it fall off my shoulders."

"After he finished, he hitched up his pants and smiled at me" before pointing her in the direction of the bathroom, the Post reported.

"I was in shock," Alford wrote.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iKwM0CUoByraAT1u4bXKtVNxmM5w?docId=CNG.956cc047c755305c8ad4580183554bcc.e1

[MineralMan]

1. Here's a photo of her at the time:

And today, in a composite with JFK and the younger photo:

[MineralMan]

14. No comment. -10

[kskiska]

21. She was a debutante.

Attended Miss Porter's School, same as Jackie.

[Dorian Gray]

40. I also attended

Miss Porter's, but I was not a debutante.

(Though I attended in the 80s, not when they did.)

[obamanut2012]

42. I cannot believe this post is still here

Ugh.

Yeah, let's joke about rape by making an oral sex "joke."

[Ian David]

46. You're right. I'll self-delete. Sorry. n/t

[Mira]

81. Nose and Eyes and glance remind me of Grace Kelly.

I wish he had not done this. I truly do.
He probably did "because he could". A very sad commentary for inexcusable behavior.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. Obviously I haven't read the entire account but might we remain skeptical in fairness?

It's not like President Kennedy can defend himself or WH records could bolster or disprove her claim.

[MineralMan]

3. We could remain skeptical, but this has the ring of truth to it.

It wouldn't be that surprising, really. I suspect that if we knew how many Presidents had affairs with young women, we'd all be shocked. Perhaps we shouldn't be, given the power of that position and the hero worship of so many.

[oberliner]

5. Can this really be called a consenual affair?

From her description it sounds like something else.

[MineralMan]

11. I don't know. She would have been 19 at the time.

Even in 1962, 19 year old women had sex with people. There's an intoxicating allure to powerful people that sometimes overwhelms their natural caution.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it were consensual. Not at all.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

16. As oberliner noted the description does not sound consensual.

To believe her account is to believe JFK was essentially a rapist. I stand by my original appeal to skepticism in light of the reasonable impossibility of proving the matter one way or another but the description given was anything but consensual. I know if I described something like that to my dad he would be crawling over Secret Service agents to punch-out my attacker.

[MineralMan]

18. Without reading her account, I couldn't say.

And I have no intention of reading it. I'm just saying that nothing surprises me about what powerful people do. According to the sources I've seen, this "affair" went on for some time. There has to be some consensuality involved, I think. But, I have no way of knowing for certain. So, I'm not saying it was consensual or wasn't.

[DutchLiberal]

34. How is it not consensual??!

He didn't use force. He didn't use violence. He didn't threaten her. He didn't abuse her.

She didn't resist. She didn't even object. She didn't say no. She gave no indication that she didn't want it. She even unbuttoned her shirt herself.

So to say that believing her account, which I do, is believing JFK "was essentially a rapist" is pure and utter bullshit. He was just a guy who was lucky enough to be able to have sex with young attractive women.

[oberliner]

74. Position of authority - fear of consequences

Isn't that one of the reasons why universities have policies against teacher-student relationships?

It seems from the description that saying no was not the most realistic option at that point.

Isn't coercion implicit in the situation and the power dynamics involved?

[DutchLiberal]

77. I'm not opposed to teacher-student relationships either...

Not if it involves two consenting adults.

You don't know saying no was not an option, because that's not what she describes. She just gives a factual account of what happened. She is not the one positioning herself as a victim, certain DU members are.

[Mira]

82. I was going to explain some of this to you... but your last sentence shows me

I'm dealing with deaf ears and emotion.

[DutchLiberal]

88. What is it? Shocked by the fact that men and women can enjoy sex?

I'm sick and tired of the holier-than-thou crew on DU.

Don't take it out on me with nasty accusations, if you can't handle the thought that an older man would enjoy consensual sex with a younger woman.

[Mira]

89. What I said was neither nasty nor an accusation

I pointed out that you misunderstood the situation which you still do. There is something in your mental filters or in your life experience that can't allow you to see the situation clearly.
I'm glad it was not my 19 year old daughter to whom this happened, or yours.

[sabrina 1]

67. Thank you. A one-sided account of something that happened half a century ago

requires a lot of skeptism, at least as far as good journalism goes. Were there any witnesses, has this ever been talking about before? I can't imagine being an editor of any reputable publication and publishing such a story without some corroborating evidence of some kind. But then journalistic standards are not what they used to be.

Anyone can make claims like this. And who is going to refute them? The time to reveal this was at the time, or at least while there were still people around who could offer some more information.

I met Al Gore once, forty years from now I suppose I could tell a story like this and who is going to prove me wrong? I would hope no editor would publish it though without something more than my word.

[obamanut2012]

43. Being "in shock" doesn't denote a consensual sexual encounter

It denotes sexual assault.

[leeroysphitz]

49. I could have described myself as being "in shock" during and after my first sexual encounter.

However, I can assure you that the act was consensual.

[EFerrari]

64. Shock is what your system does when it is theatened in some way. n/t

[MineralMan]

52. Too long ago and too little information to make a judgment on this

one, I think. I simply don't know what happened in that room. I do know that the affair continued for some time, according to other writings. Does that mean there was consent? I do not know the answer to that, and never will.

I'm not interested in the sexual pecadillos of dead former Presidents. I suspect that the list of them would be very, very long, if you looked closely at all the Presidents. I'm not interested in this person's book, either, since it's just one perspective on what happened and not even necessarily truthful.

Did JFK take advantage of his powerful position to have sex with that young woman? Could well be. But, I do not know. There are many possible scenarios.

Too much time has passed and we have only one person telling the story. I'll leave it at that, for those who want to read her book. It holds no interest for me.

[TBF]

56. That's how I see it as well.

She may well be telling the complete truth and simply wanted to get her side of the story out before she died. And that's fine I suppose - but I wouldn't be interested in reading it.

[Surya Gayatri]

53. Not necessarily, and I speak from

personal experience.

Easy enough to be drawn naively into a sexual encounter and then be shocked by one's lack of judgement after the fact.

Happens all the time.

SG

[DutchLiberal]

59. A groupie who has sex with a rockstar may be "in shock" too...

Doesn't denote sexual assault.

If a woman has sex with a man and later regrets it, like this woman seems to imply in her book, that doesn't make it assault. Yet lots of people are awfully quick to make that argument and paint all women who ever made a decision they regretted later on as powerless victims and all men as assaulters who abuse their powers. I find that disgusting.

[aquart]

60. Bull cookies.

The President of the United States was deflowering her. If that doesn't rate shock, I don't know what does.

[ehrnst]

91. Can sex between 2 people of such uneven power really be 'consentual.'

She said that she didn't 'resist' but, especially in that era - what 19 year old girl is going to disobey the President of the United States?

[girl gone mad]

62. Which part has a "ring of truth"?

The part where she sells her story to Murdoch's NY Post?

The part where she says Kennedy told her he would rather his children grow up as communists than engage in war with Russia?

The part where she accuses Kennedy of forcing her to take illegal drugs in the White House?

Or the part where she waited until anyone who could dispute or corroborate the story was dead?

[MineralMan]

63. Shrug.

Someone wrote an account of things that happened to her during her life. People write memoirs all the time. I rarely read them, unless the person is extremely notable or interesting. This is not one of the books I will read.

Are her claims true? I have no idea, really. Others have written about this "affair," so I suppose there's some truth to it, but it's of no consequence to me. The players in the drama are old or dead, and none of it has anything to do with anything current.

So, this woman can write as she sees fit. Others can read it or not read it and believe it or not believe it, as they see fit. Since it will be impossible to sort out what is accurate and what is not in this, I'll simply ignore it, beyond the comments in this thread.

[girl gone mad]

76. If they aren't true, then great harm is being done.

Right?

Nice double standard. In you warped world view, the NY Post is free to publish raunchy trash accusing a great Democratic President/war hero of cowardice, criminal behavior and disloyalty to his country, and you buy into it hook line and sinker, but Nadin must be held greatly accountable for believing and commenting on a tall tale from Facebook. Journalistic standards and all. So, so important to you.

[sabrina 1]

68. Lol, I was wondering that also. I'd like to a lot more about this woman before giving

much credibility to this story. My reaction was the opposite, it is an extremely questionable story. But hey, if Murdoch was involved who are we to question?

And here I thought we were trying to raise the standards of journalism

[FarPoint]

7. The man had a severe chronic back injury

Addison disease and took narcotics for pain...he was never that horney...lot's of opportunities for females to cash in post mortum in my opinion.

[FarPoint]

13. Thanks for the heart

Whoever donated. I'm a life long first line advocate for Planned Parenthood.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

65. How do you know he wasn't horny??

Lots of people have said he was extremely sexually active.

[yellowcanine]

71. The hypothesis I heard was that the steroids he took made him MORE horny, not less.

It is all speculation anyway. But if the stories of his many dalliances are true he obviously was horny a lot. Can't quite see a person who is not sustaining that many affairs.

[virgogal]

4. She's claiming that the long shadow of the affair was responsible

Last edited Mon Feb 6, 2012, 07:30 PM - Edit history (1)

for the breakdown of her own marriage.

Bullshit !

[jwirr]

24. I would agree. I think we need to remember that this was an era of "free sex" and it was really

different - even that today. Kind of anything goes atmosphere. So I to think that this could be true but not necessarily the cause of her marriage breaking up unless she was still infatuated with JFK and it got in the way. Sexuality and the results were taken very casually back then.

[wtmusic]

25. "Anything goes" in 1962?

"Sexuality and the results were taken very casually back then."?

Where are you getting that from?

[jwirr]

26. Personal experience and that of friend, fellow students and neighbors. I was there.

[wtmusic]

27. I was there too

but IMO overall it's no different than it is now. Not a whit.

[Arkansas Granny]

61. I was there in 1962 also, but I don't remember free love kicking in for a few years after that.

That didn't happen until BC pills were readily available to anyone who wanted them. IIRC, when I was in high school, it was difficult for unmarried girls to get prescriptions.

[jwirr]

78. In my community they did not get contraception. They got pregnant and consequently married and

often divorced in later years.

The difference I see today is that it is couples who are living together and not so much the idea of one night stands. I know that sexuality became more open as the years went on but make no mistake - it was there in 62. In fact in my rural Iowa community in 1958 things were obviously different than before.

Today sexuality is still open but because of such problems as aids and the realization that pregnancy is a real problem there is more thought where older partners are concerned. I suspect that high school students may still be fairly open about it. I do not know about this demographic.

[yellowcanine]

70. I had the same response but I think it is in reference to a later time when the marriage broke up.

In other words the marriage broke up later on because of the sexual mores of the time and not because of the lingering effect of the Kennedy affair. I would say the woman whose life it was is in a better position to know - particularly now, when she is much older and can look back with some mature perspective.

[obamanut2012]

44. That is certainly not true

Not in 1962, and not for a young woman from her background.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Written like a Harlequin romance novel. n/t

[Missy Vixen]

36. Actually, no, it's not

Harlequin's publication standards are much higher.

-MV
romance author

[Fumesucker]

54. You made me laugh..

Because I believe you..

[Blue_In_AK]

58. You made me laugh, too.

Yes, I was probably too hard on Harlequin.

[Mira]

84. I have never read one of those, and I have a bit of trouble with your casual sentence.

I've been young, and impressionable, and have been seduced by the power of a man who had some of it in my mind.
And look at WHO came on to her!!! And what do you do about a thing like that when you are 19 and he is gorgeous?

I have no reason whatsoever to think she is lying. Other historical tales about President Kennedy tend to corroborate her account of the mores of the man and the times.

[Blue_In_AK]

85. I didn't intend to imply that she was lying,

only that the quoted language was rather "flowery."

[Mira]

87. OKAY then. It was flowery, I agree.

Is that what they use in Romance novels? I've read Lady Chatterley but I don't remember, and it may not even qualify.

Honestly, being her same age or thereabouts, I can so easily imagine all of it.
Then, and now.
It explains to ME why she went along with it then. And it explains to me why she fessed up to it now (after the buzz was out for years about her anyway).
It also explains to me why she made it a bit flowery.

Because: She was so young. She was so shocked. She was virginal, and not in a position to make huge waves.
No waves, really. She was being sexually harassed while being casually seduced.
Besides, he was attractive - plus all the other shocking things that went on in her 19 year old mind when it happened.

Over time she has figured out that this was not that cool a thing to do with a married man.

The flowery words are making her feel a bit better because they take away some of the sting.

[Snake Alchemist]

9. Sad if true. nt

[Iggo]

15. And sadder if false. (n/t)

[sabrina 1]

69. 1000% n/t

[Peregrine Took]

10. What is her motive for coming forward with this now?

Money?

Must be so embarrassing to her kids and grandkids and for the Kennedy offspring.

Yuck.

I heard some local wingnut moran's on the radio here in Chicago reading choice morsels of the online articles today.

Yuck.

I wonder how Chris Matthews will react as he is such a JFK-o-phile.

[Iggo]

19. Sell books. (n/t)

[Surya Gayatri]

55. Bingo!

Ensuring her progeny's future?

SG

[MineralMan]

12. By the way, this book is not the first time this has

been mentioned. Mimi Beardsley Alford has appeared in several accounts of Kennedy's life, with the tie to an affair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimi_Alford

Feet of clay are pretty common among powerful people. And willing partners are not in short supply, it seems.

[sinkingfeeling]

17. I really don't care how true her version of events is or isn't. What

happens between two adults (in 1962 , she wasn't one, couldn't vote, etc. at 19), isn't any of my business. I'm 5 years younger than Alford and I have a hundred stories I could tell about affairs within ex-employer, but think keeping private things, private is important.

[sabrina 1]

83. Couldn't agree more. From what I have read she claims they had an affair, she was

a grown woman, not a child. I am sure a majority of women at that age and younger, and older, have been tempted by men in positions of power, bosses etc, but have chosen to say 'no' especially if the man is married.

It takes two to tango and I have zero sympathy for women who choose to have an affair with a married man, then decades later choose to profit from it and play the victim, assuming she is playing the victim. Personally the only victim in this kind of story is the wife.

The first time this story was revealed from what I have read, was six years ago. Over 40 years later.

[JitterbugPerfume]

20. Why did she wait so long to "reveal" this?

this whole thing can't pass the smell test

[CurtEastPoint]

22. Amen to that. FIFTY years later? Please.

[meanit]

23. Sounds like just another installment of right wing tabloid BS about the Kennedys.

(she) "recalls that he confided to her, while embroiled in the drama of the Cuban missile crisis that "I'd rather my children red, than dead."

That line kinda gives it away, doesn't it?

[unionworks]

28. welcome to DU

And interesting point. Thanks!

[meanit]

94. Thanks for the welcome

n/t

[flamingdem]

41. Good catch!

nt

[bluestate10]

29. Well known that JFK was a panty chaser who would screw any attractive woman that let him.

There is nothing new in the disclosure that he would have sex with a 19 year old that was willing and struck his fancy. His nephew had sex with a 14 year old. Rampant womanizing ran robust among the men in his family, starting with JFK's father.

[book_worm]

30. No reason not to believe it--she isn't really all that new--knowledge of her has

been around for several years. JFK was a serial womanizer. He could have even taken down his government if it had been revealed that he had an affair with a soviet spy (like the Profumo scandal that brought down the British government in 1963). What is most sad is that he had among his white house staff pimps such as Dave Powers who helped bring in all kinds of women for his enjoyment. As for the young lady, I read that in her last tryst with JFK (in November, 1963) she reminded him that she was going to get married soon to her college sweetheart and, so, sex would supposedly not be on the agenda anymore. So she felt that it was important that she be faithful to her marriage vows but wasn't above aiding JFK in breaking his.

Ok, I admit it. I'm not a huge JFK fan. I think he's overrated. I think he was morally bankrupt and the ultimate cold warrior and very slow with civil rights because he feared that the southern dems would stand in the way of his other programs. I guess what he did behind closed doors is none of our business, but he certainly didn't go out of his way to keep his activities secret. The press of the time knew what he was doing--all of them say so now (those still living)--but at the time they didn't publicize that kind of thing.

[SaintPete]

31. So?

No reflection on you oberliner, but what exactly are we supposed to think/do about this?

Not a thing, IMO.

[oberliner]

32. That can be said about a lot of posts here

To me it's a sad example of men taking advantage of positions of power for their own personal sexual gratification. The way of the world I guess. Today less so than then? Who knows.

Love your George Harrison icon!

[SaintPete]

33. you're absolutely right, my bad

peace, and thanks for the Icon props. I met Harrison once--briefly--near the Krishna Temple in Los Angeles. What a soul... If you've ever seen the SNL skit where Chris Farley interviews Paul McCartney, you'll know what I felt like, lol.

[oberliner]

39. No problem

I actually got to see George perform live. What a treat that was. Was lucky to see three out of the four Beatles in concert at one time or another.

All the best!

[LanternWaste]

50. I imagine some may reflect. Others may discuss. And still others may do further research.

"but what exactly are we supposed to think/do about this..."

I imagine some may reflect. Others may discuss. And still others may do further research. Although I realize that doesn't fit well within the narrative of doing nothing as you suggest...

[SaintPete]

57. Nice try, I've already made peace with the OP

try to keep up

[Nye Bevan]

35. JFK was a well known serial adulterer, so obviously this is very believable.

And I wouldn't call it rape. More like a boss sexually harassing a junior employee.

[Fla Dem]

37. For Pete's sake, the man's been dead for 50 years.

Do I approve of JFK's extracurricular sexual activities, of course not. But other than providing some titillating reading, what value added is this book now? Just asking.

[RainDog]

45. guess what? people in positions of power (often men) use that position for sex

this is nothing new and will no doubt continue. at that time, attitudes were even more misogynistic than now - and, even today, people use their positions of power to have sex with people they wouldn't approach otherwise.

some men don't care about marriage vows - then and now. some women, too, for that matter.

I guess I'm cynical, but I'm far more surprised when people behave ethically than when they do not. I like to see ethical actions, but I don't think that's what happens most of the time.

[Broderick]

47. It bothers me if true overall.

Especially the part where he told her and encouraged her and watched her take care of another guy in front of him.

[leeroysphitz]

48. This woman is clearly lying here and trying to profit from besmirching a great man.

The question is why. These people always have an angle.

[Arugula Latte]

51. Oh, come on. It's well-known JFK was a horndog

and had many affairs. Why is she "clearly" lying?

[Nye Bevan]

90. +1. If this was Jimmy Carter, I would be sceptical.

But JFK? No more surprising than Bill Clinton.

[Beacool]

93. Please.............

JFK was well known for having a long parade of women in and out of the WH. This woman is just one of many.

He may have been a "great man", but he was also a man that chased anything in a skirt. The two are not mutually exclusive.

[graywarrior]

66. It's kinda Romance Novelly, isn't it?

"I finished unbuttoning my shirtdress and let it fall off my shoulders."

[deutsey]

72. The president! Having sex with women within these very walls....

You! Kennedy. You looked so good all the time. They're gonna find out about you, too. The president! Having sex with women within these very walls. That never happened when Dick Nixon was in the White House! Never! Never! Never!...

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75snixon.phtml

(Skit written by Al Franken and Tom Davis...I think while on LSD)

[Blue_Tires]

73. JFK affair tell-all books lost their scandal shock, what, 20+ years ago??

Will she even sell a hundred copies?

[T S Justly]

75. Character assassination of an assassinated President fifty years after a conspiracy murdered him?

Well, what's a successful transition to fascism without something like that?

[Octafish]

79. The Posthumous Assassination of JFK

Judith Exner, Mary Meyer, and Other Daggers

By James DiEugenio
Probe
From the September-October, 1997 issue (Vol. 4 No. 6)

Current events, most notably a past issue of Vanity Fair, and the upcoming release of Sy Hersh’s new book, extend an issue that I have dealt with in a talk I have done several times around the country in the last two years. It is entitled “The Two Assassinations of John Kennedy.” I call it that because there has been an ongoing campaign of character assassination ever since Kennedy was killed.

In the talk to date, I’ve dealt primarily with the attacks on Kennedy from the left by Noam Chomsky and his henchman Alexander Cockburn which occurred at the time of the release of Oliver Stone’s JFK. But historically speaking, the attacks on the Kennedys, both Jack and Robert, have not come predominantly from the left. The attacks from the right have been much more numerous. And the attacks from that direction were always harsher and more personal in tone. As we shall see, that personal tone knows no limits. Through papers like the New York Times and Washington Post, the attacks extend into the Kennedys’ sex lives, a barrier that had not been crossed in post-war mainstream media to that time. To understand their longevity and vituperativeness, it is necessary to sketch in how they all began. In that way, the reader will be able to see that Hersh’s book, the Vanity Fair piece on Judith Exner, and an upcoming work by John Davis on Mary Meyer, are part of a continuum.

The Right and the Kennedys

There can be no doubt that the right hated the Kennedys and Martin Luther King. There is also little doubt that some who hated JFK had a role in covering up his death. One could use Secret Service agent Elmer Moore as an example. As revealed in Probe (Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 20-21), Moore told one Jim Gochenaur how he was in charge of the Dallas doctors testimony in the JFK case. One of his assignments as liaison for the Warren Commission seems to have been talking Dr. Malcolm Perry out of his original statement that the throat wound was one of entry, which would have indicated an assassin in front of Kennedy. But another thing Gochenaur related in his Church Committee interview was the tirade that Moore went into the longer he talked to him: how Kennedy was a pinko who was selling us out to the communists. This went on for hours. Gochenaur was actually frightened by the time Moore drove him home.

But there is another more insidious strain of the rightwing in America. These are the conservatives who sometimes disguise themselves as Democrats, as liberals, as “internationalists.” This group is typified by men like Averill Harriman, Henry Stimson, John Foster Dulles and the like. The common rubric used to catalog them is the Eastern Establishment. The Kennedy brothers were constantly at odds with them. In 1962, Bobby clashed with Dean Acheson during the missile crisis. Acheson wanted a surprise attack; Bobby rejected it saying his brother would not go down in history as another Tojo. In 1961, JFK disobeyed their advice at the Bay of Pigs and refused to add air support to the invasion. He was punished for this in Fortune magazine with an article by Time-Life employee Charles Murphy that blamed Kennedy for the failure of the plan. Kennedy stripped Murphy of his Air Force reserve status but — Murphy wrote to Ed Lansdale — that didn’t matter; his loyalty was to Allen Dulles anyway. In 1963, Kennedy crossed the Rubicon and actually printed money out of the Treasury, bypassing that crowning jewel of Wall Street, the Federal Reserve Board. And as Donald Gibson has written, a member of this group, Jock Whitney, was the first to put out the cover story about that Krazy Kid Oswald on 11/22/63 (Probe Vol. 4 No.1).

CONTINUED...

http://www.ctka.net/pr997-jfk.html

[Raine]

80. JFK wasn't the first president to be a "womanizer"

and he sure isn't the last, just saying.

[Beacool]

86. Is this a surprise?

Last edited Thu Feb 9, 2012, 11:56 AM - Edit history (1)

Starting with their dad, all the Kennedy men thought that women were there for the taking. Remember all the lovers that paraded through the Kennedy WH? From the secretaries (dubbed Fiddle and Faddle), Judith Campbell Exner (a mobster's moll) and the most famous of them all: Marilyn Monroe. Jack and Bobby got the pick of the litter, poor Teddy got their left overs. Although Teddy made up for it years later. I used to see Teddy and the younger generation of the Kennedys in action in Palm Beach and Hyannis.