July 15, 1961 - The U.S. launched its ninth Polaris missile submarine today with a warning to Soviet Premier Khrushchev that America "can be pushed too far." Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, speaking at the launching of the nuclear-powered John Marshall, cautioned Premier Khrushchev against making the mistake of Adolf Hitler of "underestimating the American people." He said that while Mr. Khrushchev was "not a Hitler," the Soviet Premier had described this country as a "dying, stumbling horse, which would destroy itself." "If this is what Khrushchev believes," Mr. Kennedy said, "he makes a most dangerous mistake in underestimating the American people."
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