Honest Abe
Sir: I am gobsmacked that Amanda Fore- man, in her innocent credulity (Diary, 16 May), has allowed the most vile string of falsehoods in the history of journalism to get into The Spectator as 'facts'. I refer to the list of alleged 'parallels' between Abra- ham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. This blatant pack of lies was cobbled together by Kennedy's hagiographers in an attempt to elevate him undeservedly to a status equal to that of Lincoln.
Many of the 'parallels' which Foreman cites in good faith are utter lies. For exam- ple, although Kennedy's secretary was indeed named Lincoln, no member of Lin- coln's staff was named Kennedy. Some of the other 'parallels' are tortuous at best, such as the story about Booth running from a theatre to a warehouse and Oswald run- ning from a warehouse to a theatre. In fact, Booth fled on horseback from a theatre and was shot dead several days later in a barn (not a warehouse), whereas Oswald fled on foot from a book depository (not a ware- house) and was captured alive the same day in a cinema (not a theatre). Not much sYrw metty there. One might also point out that Booth fired a pistol point-blank at a station- ary victim, while Oswald fired a rifle at a moving target from a distance.
Fergus Gwynplaine MacIntyre Post Office Box 2213, Grand Central Station, New York City, USA
Previous page
