was the third political assassination in five years.

Nixon won the 1968 election over Humphrey andran forre-electionin 1972 against McGovern. During the campaign, the Democratic head- quarters were broken into by five agents of the Committee to Re-elect the President. Numer- ous events that followed forced the president (Nixon) to resign in shame rather than be igno-

freed, but three more were later taken hostage. Lt. Col. Oliver North said he thought ‘the plan was a neat idea’’. When brought up on charges regarding the affair, North’s defence was that he was only following orders. But, he was found guilty on charges of lying to Congress, theft of government funds, and fraud. Today, this crimi- nal is regarded by many to be an american hero. Inhis book, An American Story, he, like Nixon,

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history symbolizing for many americans the beginning ofa growing distrust in their govern- ment’s leader and ‘institutions.

Tom Foley, leader of the House, was re- cently asked to comment on the 17% approval rating of the Congress. He gave no specific answer but suggested they deserve better. With the last 30 years of political history in mind, it is not difficult to justify the eroded confidence.

"the Kennedy assassination emerges as a turning point in American history...

as Watergate, resulted in the conviction of several campaign officials. Today, Nixon still professes his innocence.

The next political scandal occurred almost 20years later. Iran-Contra was extremely shock- ing to many of the american electorate due to the fact that the political processes were so closely scrutinized by the press. Many felt the occurrences of the 1960’s would not happen again due to extensive press coverage. Iran was the sworn enemy of the United States. The american government pressured its allies into refraining from doing any business with the terrorist-supporting nation (Iran). Reagan in- sisted he would never trade hostages for arms; however, the National Security Council at- tempted to trade hostages for missiles. The NSC gave the Iranian government 2000 TOW mis- siles and 200 vital spare parts for the HAWK missile battery. In return, three hostages were

Admiral John Poindexter admitted to de- stroying the document in which Reagan had authorized the sale of arms.

Poindexter said he did it to protect the presi- dent politically. Reagan later declared that it did appear they had traded hostages for arms but has never admitted to having full knowledge of the transactions. This week, a report by govern- ment prosecutor, Lawrence Walsh, concluded that Reagan was fully aware of all dealing with Iran.

President Clinton ran on a platform that represented change, which was widely accepted by the american public. He offered a new gen- eration of americans new hope and faith for their government. He often quoted Kennedy during his campaign in an attempt to establish the high expectations Kennedy amplified to the american public. Thus, the Kennedy assassina- tion emerges as a turning point in american

Jason Grasse

Although his education has focused on the sciences (B. Sc.) his keen interest in politics (modern American) has led him to research numerous political matters. He has visited the Assassination Archives in Washington D.C, spoke with E. Howard Hunt and researched several political downfalls.

Glenn J. Roberts.

A former political science major at UPEI,

Roberts is a member of various thinktank insti-

tutes including the Assassination Archives and Research Centre and the Study of American Political Assassinations, both in Washington D.C.. Mr. Roberts has devoted many years to compiling research on the Kennedy Presidency and the assassination. He has written numer- ous articles and talked with many scholars of the Warren Commission.

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November 18, 1993/X-Press/11