June 1, 1944
Former presidential friend and aide Harry Hopkins says in a new book that President Roosevelt “misled” the people of the United States about the war and has carried on an intimate relationship with another woman for many years.
Those are just two of the shocking revelations contained in What Actually Happened which goes on sale next week at bookstores. Hopkins, whose public falling out with Roosevelt last year made headlines, said he had to write the book because his conscience was bothering him and that reflecting on his tenure at the White House made him see the error of his ways.
Among the surprises in the book:
- Roosevelt misled the American people about the extent of damage done to our Pacific fleet on December 7 – a cover up that continues to this day. Hopkins didn’t give the exact number of ships damaged or sunk but he said it was “considerably more” than FDR let on and that casualties were in “the thousands.”
- The former friend also accuses Roosevelt of ignoring intelligence that pointed to an attack on Pearl Harbor. “Roosevelt had in his possession certain intercepted communications that proved the Japanese were about to strike,” writes Hopkins. But Roosevelt’s arrogance prevented him from seeing the truth, says the author.
- Hopkins also accused the President of failing to save the Philippines from falling into Japanese hands by not resupplying Corrigedor and allowing Bataan to fall without an effort to save it. “The fact is,” writes Hopkins, “There were plans that, if implemented, could have rescued the Philippines while saving our men on Bataan from the cruelty of the Death March.”
- The former aide also accused Roosevelt of incompetence at the Battle of Anzio. The president’s stubborn insistence on the landing despite knowledge of German strength in area as well as his continued belief in the capabilities of General Lucas led to a bloody, unnecessary stalemate.
- Hopkins also wrote that FDR deferred much too often to British PM Churchill and that by doing so, forced the US into premature action on several fronts.
- The most explosive revelation in the book has to do with a mistress the president is allegedly have kept for many years. Hopkins did not name the woman but said she visits the White House when Eleanor is out of town and has been to the Warm Springs resort several times as well.
- Hopkins called FDR “vindictive” and was someone who carried a grudge. This image is at odds with Roosevelt’s public demeanor of being even tempered and a happy, well adjusted man.
Hopkins has promised to donate some of the proceeds he receives from the book to the widows and orphans of Pearl Harbor…
5:30 pm
“President Bush broke his promise to the country by refusing to fire aide Karl Rove for leaking a CIA agent’s identity,” said Scott McClellan, the president’s chief spokesman for almost three years.
“I think the president should have stood by his word and that meant Karl should have left,” McClellan said Sunday in a broadcast interview about his new tell-all book, a scathing rebuke of the White House under Bush’s leadership.
McClellan now acknowledges he felt burned by Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff. He said Rove and Libby assured him they were not involved in leaking CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity, and he repeated those assurances to reporters.
In fact, Rove and Libby did help leak Plame’s identity, as confirmed in a later criminal investigation. Libby had resigned by then, but Rove remained in office and eventually stepped down on his terms in August 2007.
“I think the president should have stood by the word that we said, which was that if you were involved in this in any way, then you would no longer be in this administration. And Karl was involved in it,” McClellan said.
White House press secretary Dana Perino declined comment Sunday.
5:33 pm
Hey, while we have nothing to do before we lose the White Hosue and our place in history, lets revise history to a story we like.
In this story FDR, one if the most loved Presidents in history, effective, efficient, a warrior, and a patriot, turns out to be an evil Commie.
While you’re at it, clap your hands and a pony will appear.
5:34 pm
Please stop that Rick
President Bush broke his promise to the country by refusing to fire aide Karl Rove for leaking a CIA agent’s identity, said Scott McClellan, the president’s chief spokesman for almost three years.
“I think the president should have stood by his word and that meant Karl should have left,” McClellan said Sunday in a broadcast interview about his new tell-all book, a scathing rebuke of the White House under Bush’s leadership.
McClellan now acknowledges he felt burned by Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff. He said Rove and Libby assured him they were not involved in leaking CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity, and he repeated those assurances to reporters.
In fact, Rove and Libby did help leak Plame’s identity, as confirmed in a later criminal investigation. Libby had resigned by then, but Rove remained in office and eventually stepped down on his terms in August 2007.
“I think the president should have stood by the word that we said, which was that if you were involved in this in any way, then you would no longer be in this administration. And Karl was involved in it,” McClellan said.
White House press secretary Dana Perino declined comment Sunday.
6:16 pm
There is no comparison between FDR’s administration and Bush if that’s your point. FDR followed the law in stepping aside to allow Congress to fulfill their constitutional charge in determining if a declaration of war was merited. Clearly, the Constitution stipulates that the Congress alone has the authority to declare war.
Congress was complicit in breaching the Constitution when they yielded to Bush’s request that he alone would pull the war trigger.This effectively removed all checks and safeguards. Why the bum’s rush to war?
Bush wanted to avoid the national debate and vetting process that would have taken place in Congress. Unfortunately, Bush’s decision to invade Iraq was made in spite of the fact that we lacked the solid evidence and the imminent danger to warrant a just and legal war.
Unlike WW2, Iraq was clearly a war of choice, not necessity.
7:00 pm
Some hits and some misses. The US wanted an early invasion of France, something that the Nazis probably would have defeated in 1943. FDR could have saved Bataan? With the fleet at the bottom of Pearl Harbor not likely.
On the other hand the public never knew the extent of the losses at Pearl, look at the papers of the period to see what they knew. FDR vindictive, well thats spot on. Mistress, maybe the news media didn’t wish to admit it but of course this was true.
Alternate history no just a different perspective from someone with an ax to grind and since Hopkins was a communist agent, possibly with an agenda that Moscow wished to foist on the public.
9:35 pm
Seems like so much Monday Morning Quarterbacking to me, on Hopkins part.
Reed Irvine labels him as a Communist agent at the time. What are we supposed to make of that?
The clincher: “Hopkins has promised to donate some of the proceeds he receives from the book to the widows and orphans of Pearl Harbor.”
The orphans are now 67 years old. And the widows?
Rick, are you pushing buttons?
9:54 pm
Dr Luv-rather neat name that-
Among FDR’s more egregious non constitutional measures were 1)Imprisoning Nisei
2)Attempting to r3construct the Supreme Court.(I do agree it wasn’t ipso facto,because he was trying to have an amendment,but few would argue the intent)
3)I’m not too thrilled about the third term (and more so fourth decision also.Although they wer3e executive precedents not laws
Thomas Jackson;I don’t know of any evidence HH was a Communisthe was a brave dedicated man,who was an essentially sloppy administrator and a social worker.But a Commie?
10:05 pm
“In fact, Rove and Libby did help leak Plame’s identity, as confirmed in a later criminal investigation.”
Which “fact” are you talking about? Even Patrick Fitzgerald had a hard time linking Rove to the leak, hence he’s not “persecuted”. In any case, if you have paid attention, it was Armitage, Colin Powell’s side-kick, who leaked to Novak. Libby “lied” about his knowledge. Repeating untruths and wishful thinking does not facts made. Go check out Fitzgerald’s report. There was no later criminal investigation. If there were and Rove was found guilty, he would either be rotting in jail, or pardoned by Bush. Neither happened.
10:18 pm
A “rush” to war? Assuming the start point for discussions was September 11, 2001, we didn’t invade Iraq until early 2003—over 18 months later.
Slowest rush I’ve ever seen.
10:58 pm
Scotty) We all know Armitage was the one who leaked Plame’s identity.
DrKrbyLuv) No comparison? I think he just made one.
Thomas Jackson) The list of FDR’s mistakes in WWII, as well as in domestic policies, is long.
10:59 pm
DrKrbyLuv-
Saddam violated the “cease fire” about 3 months after one his cronies signed it.
Over the next 12 years Saddam’s army repeatedly tried to shoot down US and UK jets, in violation of the above mentioned cease fire.
Bill Clinton ordered “Operation Desert Fox” which bombed his illegal fiber optic network and other illegal installations without the approval of Congress
Iraq was in violation of 17 UN Resolutions when the Coalition attacked him in 2003. Saddam was legally bound to comply with them all because he signed the cease fire in 1991 to end offensive operations against him.
Try to rework your conspiracy around these facts and get back to us.
11:03 pm
Gosh, I wonder if the follow on book will cover President Roosevelts illegal arming of the Chinese by using funds and materials that meant for the British that were used for the so called “American Volunteer Group”, a set of US Miltary pilots serving illegally and violation of congressional rulings about neutrality that were in action the time. President Roosevelt and his party have much to answer to in regards to Mr. T.V. Soong and his use undue influence in the White House around that illegal and unjust war.
11:04 pm
Scotty,
We know that it was Richard Armitage, not Karl Rove, who leaked Valerie Plame’s name. If McClellan is still claiming otherwise, he is a liar and a weasel; to my knowledge, he is still just a weasel.
Rick,
Nice piece, but you missed your chance to remind your readers that once upon a time, we went to war over oil. Well, actually the Japanese did – we were the ones who had the oil and cut off their supply. Still, Roosevelt might have avoided war with Japan by not implementing the oil embargo in 1941.
11:12 pm
“FDR followed the law in stepping aside to allow Congress to fulfill their constitutional charge in determining if a declaration of war was merited. Clearly, the Constitution stipulates that the Congress alone has the authority to declare war.
Congress was complicit in breaching the Constitution when they yielded to Bush’s request that he alone would pull the war trigger.This effectively removed all checks and safeguards.”
Don’t sign up for the debate team…
11:14 pm
The irony is not lost on me.
11:22 pm
ITT: Libs don’t understand satire.
11:31 pm
FDR brought the country out of the Great Depression and helped lead the Allied powers to victory in World War II. George Bush is an ineffectual, despised nincompoop whose high water marks are a misbegotten “war”, restrictions of American core freedoms, an horrendous addition to the national debt and fearmongering on a scale not seen since Joe McCarthy.
If you want to attack Scott McClellan, making an apples and horse dung comparison is probably not the way to do it.
11:50 pm
“Some hits and some misses. ”
I think the point was that not everything asserted by alt-Hopkins as fact was actually true.
12:20 am
“Scotty” is an uninformed person on this topic. And therefore in error.
Valerie Plame’s name was first bruted about by Richard Armitage at State. Powell knew it. Fitzgerald knew it. Both remained mute. In fact, it seems like everyone knew it. Except “Scotty.”
12:22 am
And don’t forget that tell-all about Lincoln by his secretary, Hay.
12:23 am
Hey Scotty Said. You all know Armitage admitted he was the one who outed Plame….they already knew who “outed” her before Fitz even began.
A transcript of the Armitage leak, taken from Woodward’s tapes.
Woodward: Well it was Joe Wilson who was sent by the agency, isn’t it?
Armitage: His wife works for the agency.
Woodward: Why doesn’t that come out? Why does that have to be a big secret?
Armitage: (over) Everybody knows it.
Woodward: Everyone knows?
Armitage: Yeah. And they know ’cause Joe Wilson’s been calling everybody. He’s pissed off ’cause he was designated as a low level guy went out to look at it. So he’s all pissed off.
Woodward: But why would they send him?
Armitage: Because his wife’s an analyst at the agency.
Woodward: It’s still weird.
Armitage: He — he’s perfect. She — she, this is what she does. She’s a WMD analyst out there.
Woodward: Oh, she is.
Armitage: (over) Yeah.
Woodward: Oh, I see. I didn’t think…
Armitage: (over) “I know who’ll look at it.” Yeah, see?
Woodward: Oh. She’s the chief WMD…?
Armitage: No. She’s not the…
Woodward: But high enough up that she could say, “oh, yeah, hubby will go.”
Armitage: Yeah. She knows [garbled].
Woodward: Was she out there with him, when he was…?
Armitage: (over) No, not to my knowledge. I don’t know if she was out there. But his wife’s in the agency as a WMD analyst. How about that?
1:03 am
Sweet post.
Read ‘Liberal Fascism’ rubes, and you’ll see the real satire in the post is that in FDR’s case the accusations are true.
Now if I only live long enough to see LBJ’s co-opting the memory of St Jack fo his own ends, I will die a happy man.
3:23 am
Why don’t you tell us all again Scotty? Lord knows we can never get enough and twice is never really sufficient. We all recognize by now that every single political post is exactly one degree separation from your straight-up hatred of Bush and no post would be complete without our being reminded of that. Thank you, I’m duly envenomated now. I can rest knowing I have my daily required dosage.
3:53 am
Where to begin? First and most importantly: Hitler had NOTHING to do with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Zero. Zip. Nada. Yet the plutocrat in the White House decides on a “Europe First” strategy. Hello! Just because Hitler “declared” war doesn’t mean he could carry it out! Japan was the enemy that demonstrated the reach to attack us, NOT Germany. Besides, Hitler was Churchill’s War. Second. What’s up with that invasion of Italy? Italy didn’t attack us either! And then we start fighting GERMANS! In ITALY! I think we all know that there WERE NO GERMANS IN ITALY UNTIL THAT FOOL ROOSEVELT INVADED
And, to get back to my original argument, Hitler had NOTHING to do with Pearl Harbor! OH THE HUMANITY!
5:21 am
“FDR brought the country out of the Great Depression and helped lead the Allied powers to victory in World War II. ”
FDR exacerbated a recession into a full-blown depression, and utilized it to coopt the Supreme court, pass blatantly unconstitutional laws, and expand the Federal government 3-fold.
As far as his leadership during WWII, he mostly served as a public figurehead.
7:00 am
Oh – how about
FDR, without a declaration of war or Congressional authorization, invaded the North African territories of neutral Vichy France with whom the administration still had cordial relations with till the very moment of the attack. Reviews of the reports by even our commanders showed that the German Nazis and Italian Fascists were not to be found in these areas we occupied. The French suffered significant causalities defending their own sovereign territory. This unprovoked attacked will be remember as a day of infamy.
8:27 am
I think we all know that there WERE NO GERMANS IN ITALY UNTIL THAT FOOL ROOSEVELT INVADED
You know, that never occurred to me until now, but of course if you think about it for a second you realise that it’s perfectly true!
And then there’s the fact that our very first military response to to a Japanese attack on Hawaii was to invade North Africa! Was FDR some sort of geographically-challenged chimp who couldn’t find Japan on a map?
8:45 am
FDR violated the Neutrality Act by his prewar negotiations with the British. The Germany first policy was laid out well before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The lack of knowledge about our own history helps the Oprah/Obama school that says “Feel, don’t think.”
11:51 am
I believe I read that book, but I don’t remember Harry Hopkins as having written it.
1:34 pm
“In fact, Rove and Libby did help leak Plame’s identity, as confirmed in a later criminal investigation.”
Um, well, no they didn’t.
3:02 pm
Anzio was Churchill’s Idea.
The best book on ww2 is 15 Stars By Stanley Weintraub