'Camelot actually is better defined as "Spamalot"

All this weekend as the entire mainstream media, and even a breathless Fox News, concentrated on the every word of Senator Edward Kennedy's health. I was afraid that he might pass on to meet his maker and get his just rewards (hopefully Mary Jo Kopechne has Cliff Notes for St Peter) before I got this chance to vent. Fortunately, it was apparently just too much of his daddy's gin so all is well and I get to have my say.

What stuck in my craw was the press's constant use of the words 'Kennedy Dynasty'! Some even totally over oxygenated and called it the Nations Greatest Political Dynasty! What hyperbole! What outright Bullfeathers! Let's see now - Daddy Joe bought a short term as Ambassador to England to set up his liquor import business with Gordons Gin and Dewars Scotch. Not quite a dynasty.

The anointed one, young Joe got killed in WWII, so philanderer and playboy number two son John (JFK) got to go to the Senate for a short term and then on to the White House for a little less than three years. His claim to fame is installing the revolving girlie door on the back of the White House that Bubba later traded for a set of knee pads and staff assistance.

The Governor of Massachusetts got his marching orders from Joe Sr and kept John's Senate seat open until Fat Teddie came of age. He has remained there ever since -- not as long as West Virginia's Byrd, or South Carolina's Thurmond by a long shot -- but with an inheritance from Pop and no need to get a real job -- he's grown old and fat and disjointedly comfortable in the Senate. Seniority is his long suit - to fit over his size 60 (?) real suit.

I ain't gonna mention the late Robert and his houseful of kids or John Jr and his arrogant flame out 'cause they were both just blips out on the horizon.

That's it and that's all folks! A dynasty? I think not- - - except in their own minds and of their serfs and vassals in Massachusetts.... and of course - the MSM (main stream media).

Then I got to wonderin' about this 'Camelot' thing. Turns out that Jackie invented it in an interview with the Kennedy's personal lap dog and biographer - Ted White, in 1963. Again, picked up by the press a aired constantly.

In the course of our quest, we also came across the web home of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. We found a well-organized and informative site about JFK and his legacy, but no mention of Camelot. So we took a chance and sent an email inquiry. Less than two hours later we had a reply with our answer:

On November 29, 1963, Jackie requested an interview with journalist and friend Theodore H. White and memorialized her husband while gilding his reputation with words from his favorite show tune, "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot." Mrs. Kennedy's recollections formed the basis of White's Life Magazine article titled "For President Kennedy: An Epilogue," which appeared on December 6, 1963."

If a discussion of American political dynasties arises - I reckon the Adams family, father and son presidents, or the Roosevelts, Teddy and Franklin would come to mind. Or the Rockefellers. Surely I think we could find room on this list ahead of the Kennedy's for the Bushes - with 3 generations of US Senators, Congressmen and Presidents. It isn't a question of left or right -- it's about the definition of political dynasty and accurate, calm reporting!