WPRI-TV, July 3, 2000(5:30 p.m. news)(Jack White reporter)
Kennedy Biography
Pat Masters: A political biography of Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy praises his quick rise to the top of the national political heap. The Kennedy name, his hard work, and his ability to overcome obstacles came through as the reasons for the young congressman's success. Target 12 reporter Jack White joins us now live from the news center with more on this book, Patrick Kennedy: The Rise to Power.
Jack White: The biography is by Brown University Political Science Professor Darrell West. The book is of necessity about the Kennedy family as well as about the congressman, and one of the most noteworthy disclosures concerns John F. Kennedy Jr. and what might have contributed to the plane crash that took his life.
Darrell West: John Kennedy Jr. was dyslexic.
Jack White: Darrell West says JFK, Jr.'s dyslexia, which is an impaired ability to read, is significant in light of a report that a major cause of Kennedy's plane crash was spatial disorientation.
Darrell West: It is conceivable that Kennedy's dyslexia could have contributed to that plane crash. He was clearly disoriented, he wasn't that experienced as a pilot, and some Kennedy family members were nervous flying with him anyway.
Patrick Kennedy: I haven't heard that.
Jack White: Congressman Kennedy said he doesn't know what caused the crash.
Patrick Kennedy: But the fact of the matter is that at this point, it is a moot subject because nothing is going to bring him back.
Jack White: The Rhode Island Democrat says he has not read West's unauthorized biography. But he is a bit surprised and bemused to be the subject of a book.
Patrick Kennedy: It is overwhelming to think there is this book about me. I'm not even 33 years old yet. It is pretty strange.
Jack White: Kennedy, a Catholic, acknowledges an episode described in the book where his pro-choice stand on abortion caused him problems with the Church.
Darrell West: His local priest came to him about Mass one day and essentially chewed him out for his abortion record. With that confrontation, Patrick left that parish.
Jack White: The book covers a wide range of issues and has inside stories about Congressman Kennedy and his famous father, Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy. One of the fascinating stories is how the senior Kennedy wanted his son to run for the Rhode Island Senate seat that became open when John Chafee died. The book says Senator Kennedy went so far as to plant stories in the media that the young Kennedy would run for the Chafee seat. But the father's efforts to get his son to run for the Senate failed.
Pat Master: The book, Patrick Kennedy: The Rise to Power, is available in bookstores and on Amazon.com
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