A new twist in that intriguing story about JFK's possible son living in Vancouver, Jack Worthington: he is an ex-boyfriend of Sharon Bush, the ex-wife of George W. Bush's brother, Neil. Sharon has come to the defence of Mr. Worthington, claiming he is a man of "high integrity":
Mr. Worthington vehemently denied ever writing or speaking publicly about his possible connection to the Kennedy family.
"It's outrageous. Vanity Fair approached me. They had to woo me for over six months to work with them on their story, and I only co-operated on their assurances that my anonymity would be protected."
Mr. Worthington, who moved to the Vancouver area nine months ago, said he was reeling from the attention his story has received in the world media. He plans to come forward soon in an interview with a major U.S. network to "clear the air."
Mr. Worthington co-operated for the Vanity Fair story, which has not yet been published, but said, "I have never claimed to be JFK's love child."
"When his mother gave him the information, just a few years ago, he was shell-shocked," Ms. Bush said, adding Mr. Worthington shared the information with her at the time in "complete confidence."
Regardless of Sharon Bush, I'm willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.
First, the picture of him is clear evidence that he could well be JFK's son. Second, he has said he will sign an agreement with the Kennedys promising to not make a claim on the JFK estate. Third, if he was really looking for fame and money, he would have come forward years ago. Fourth, his going public is just an attempt to preempt the story Vanity Fair was working on, which Ted Kennedy tried to kibosh. (I do feel badly for the Vanity Fair reporter who was scooped; he did put 18 months of his life into researching this.) Fifth, the circumstantial evidence here -- his birth date, for example, as well as his mother's family connections to LBJ -- are just too weird.
I understand the Kennedys want to preserve the pop mythology surrounding JFK and his presidency. If I were them, it would be my gut instinct too to try and sweep this under the rug. But in this day and age, it is increasingly more difficult to block out unwanted news and cover things up.
