Mr. O'Donnell. Well, as near as I can recollect he was commenting to his wife on the function of the Secret Service, and his interpretation of their role once the trip had commenced, in that their main function was to protect him from crowds, and to see that an unruly or sometimes an overexcited crowd did not generate into a riot, at which the President of the United States could be injured. But he said that if anybody really wanted to shoot the President of the United States, it was not a very difficult job—all one had to do was get a high building some day with a telescopic rifle, and there was nothing anybody could do to defend against such an attempt on the President's life.
Mr. Specter. What was Mrs. Kennedy's reaction to that philosophy?
Mr. O'Donnell. I think—I think she had not quite thought of this at all. She certainly had not thought of it in this way. But I think the general tenor of the conversation was that she agreed that this was—in this democracy, this is inherent.
Mr. Specter. What had her reaction been to the trip to Texas up to that point?
Mr. O'Donnell. She had enjoyed it. She had not been a girl who had loved campaigning. And I thought at the moment, at that very minute, that for the first time—the President and I were discussing a forthcoming trip to the west coast, and he had asked her if she would come, and she said she would be delighted to come, and she would like to go from now on.
The President was delighted. We were all delighted.
Mr. Specter. Had she been on any political trip before this trip to Texas?
Mr. O'Donnell. No; she had not been on a political trip with us for quite awhile.
Mr. Specter. When was the trip immediately prior to the one to Texas that she was last on, if you recall?
Mr. O'Donnell. I don't recall. I don't recall.