Posted on 09/15/2014 11:42:18 AM PDT by Oldpuppymax
An interesting—though little-publicized—note about FDR and Murrow.
By December 1941, Murrow had returned from Britain, where he had become one of the first broadcast news “stars” for his coverage of the Blitz. Roosevelt invited him to a small dinner at the White House on Sunday evening, December 7th.
When word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was received on Sunday afternoon, Murrow called the White House to see if the invitation still stood. He was told that the dinner was on, and at the appointed hour, Murrow and his wife Janet walked to the White House. Along with other guests, they were soon told that the President would not be joining them because of the day’s events. Since the White House kitchen staff had Sundays off, Mrs. Roosevelt prepared the meal (sausage and eggs).
As the Murrows and other guests prepared to leave, the CBS correspondent was asked to remain behind. Around midnight, Murrow was ushered into the Oval Study (not the Oval Office) where he had a 25-minute meeting with FDR and Bill Donovan, founder of the OSS. There are no transcripts of the meeting, but whatever was said weighed heavily on Murrow. When he rejoined his wife at their hotel, he spent most of the night pacing the floor and chain-smoking, telling Mrs. Murrow he had been told “the biggest story of my life, but I don’t know if it’s my duty to tell it or forget it.”
The entire episode is expertly recounted in Robert Stinnett’s “Day of Deceit.” Whatever secret Murrow learned that night, he carried it to his grave. Some of Murrow’s biographers have dismissed the content of that meeting, speculating that there was some sort of damage or casualty report. But that information was made public very quickly—and there was no need for Murrow to hide that information for the rest of his life.
A more likely explanation is that Murrow discovered that FDR had some sort of prior knowledge of the attack. Donovan later confided to an associate that FDR claimed to have sent a warning to Pearl Harbor, which is another lie. The only warning sent to General Short and Admiral Kimmel was a vague notice—sent by Western Union telegram.
Even back in 1941, the MSM was covering for the Democratic Party.
I liked the term “progressive Republicans” used in the documentary. No bias indeed!
FDR was like a curse word in my household growing up. Both my parents were from New England and disliked him for messing with the Thanksgiving holiday.
It’s PBS, right? That means you and I just paid to have Ken Burns produce a hagiography of the Roosevelt’s.
Feels good.
Yea, because he was a cripple!
hard to play golf in a wheel chair. TR promised korea he would protect them and turned around and gave japan a free hand in korea because the japanese were the "almost white western" asian people. this was the era of whites had a duty to save the coloreds of the worls, a philosophy which started the sugenics, margaret sanger and the desire to abort the untermenschen of the world, dba today as planned parenthood.
TR was our first 'Progressive' President. Obama is just the latest. Churchill was a breathing human, but the similarity stops there.
Thanks so much for the heads up. It's been added to my list since that era has long fascinated me.
At least we can gripe about it here.
I’m unrepresented.
The zombies here elected an impeached judge for our rep.
Used to be dws, thought it couldn’t get worse!
In any case, the University of Tennessee Press has just published a paperback edition of Nannie Haskins' diary ($30).
Yes, it was funny...or amusing if I may.
Ummm how are were his Civil War, Baseball, Jazz and Mark Twain docs applicable to that?
Well changing your name isn’t a lie per se. People do that all the time.
It was FDR.
NYC Mayor Ed Koch had said on a radio show that FDR is burning in Hell for this. Koch was no conservative but he was pretty fair minded for a lib.
To?
I disagree and Churchill was a progressive in many ways just as TR was a conservative in many ways. But mostly it was the personality, the desire for glory, the fact that they could not be party-loyal, and that they were both prolific writers, the way they were brought up. You're mistaken if you believe that Churchill was a conservative.
To your description of the Burns docs.
Burns documentaries are a standing forum for emphasizing (and thereby perpetuating) racial discord in this country.
I am not saying it did not occur or that it is totally eradicated. Not at all.
But I defy anyone to view a single Burns documentary where there is NOT a conscious and very pronounced effort to represent ALL of American society, and at ALL times, as totally and irreversibly racist.
His documentaries are constructed (either entirely or partially) to portray this country AS IF that is ALL America IS or EVER WAS about ... and that racism and racial discord never has and does NOT appear anywhere else on this planet!
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWRONG!
Why doesn’t he apply his experience and skill to make a documentary about the boundless, profuse and incessant flood of assistance, benefits, special consideration, etc. that minorities enjoy and have received in America for DECADES?
WTF, KEN!!!
Since he focuses on specifically American subjects it would be interesting to see him take on the Great Society.
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