Man With a Plan

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 15, 1999

It apparently was some sort of fixation rather than just a Freudian slip that caused Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy to add spice to the recent test-ban treaty debate by making reference to the "Stockpile Stewardess Program." According to a report in the Washington Times, Kennedy's mind wandered a bit far afield "not once, not twice, but on three occasions" in thus misidentifying the Stockpile Stewardship Program, which enables the United States to determine, through computer simulations, that the stockpile of nuclear weapons work without having to detonate them.

Kennedy's flub drew chuckles from colleagues, according to the report, and sent staffers scurrying to make sure that the Congressional Record would not preserve for posterity his apparent preferences when it comes to stewardship vs. stewardesses.