An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963 (129 page)

p. 287: “No matter how many”: JBM, “Memo on Nixon,” Sept. 30, 1960, John Bartlow Martin Papers, LC.

p. 287: “the large body”: “Campaign Reflections,” n.d., Box 535, PPP.

p. 287: “a nearly exhaustive”: Nixon quotes and inconsistencies, n.d., Box 1024, PPP.

p. 287: “Dick Nixon stands”: Quoted in O’Donnell and Powers, 217.

p. 287: “reigned rather than ruled,” and “If you give me a week”: Stephen Ambrose, “How Clinton Is Like Ike,”
New York Times,
June 19, 2000. Ambrose believes Ike’s remarks may have cost Nixon the election.

p. 287: “acting like”: Quoted in Ambrose,
Nixon,
564.

p. 287: no well-developed economic program: Walter W. Heller, Memo, Oct. 4, 1960, Box 4, Walter W. Heller Papers, JFKL; Walter Heller and Paul Samuelson, Council of Economic Advisers OH. “The Issues in 1960,” Oct. 31, 1960, Box 992, PPP; and memos on the economy in Box 75, John B. Martin Papers.

p. 288: “I . . . think it would become”: Quoted in Sorensen, 209.

p. 288: “Foreign policy for the first time”: JFK to Dean Acheson, Aug. 1, 1960, Box 27, POF.

p. 288: 1958
Foreign Affairs
article:
Foreign Affairs,
Oct. 1958.

p. 288: “the overwhelming majority”: Gallup, 1676.

p. 288: U.S. prestige: Ibid., 1691. To bolster morale at home and prestige abroad and to discourage a possible Soviet first strike, the U.S. government in 1958-59 considered detonating a nuclear weapon on the moon “as a show of military and technical strength.” The physicist in charge of the project said later that it was “a way to bolster national confidence.” There was no clear scientific or military gain expected from the explosion. “It was a PR device, without question, in the minds of the people from the Air Force,” the physicist said. Believing that “there were other ways to impress the public that we were not about to be overwhelmed by the Russians” than by “ruining the pristine environment of the moon,” the planners scrapped the idea. See “U.S. Planned Nuclear Blast on the Moon, Physicist Says,”
New York Times,
May 16, 2000.

p. 288: “our own offensive and defensive”: JFK, “U.S. Military and Diplomatic Policies—Preparing for the Gap,” Aug. 14, 1958,
CR,
85th Congress, 2nd Session.

p. 289: Statements and speeches over the next two years: “Can Democracy Meet the Space Age Challenge?” CBS TV Symposium, Mar. 22, 1959, Box 568, PPP; “A Time for Decision,” June 14, 1960, JFK, Compilation of Speeches, JFKL; JFK at Women’s Democratic Luncheon, Sept. 14, 1960; and “Eight Years of Defense Programs and Budgets,” Sept. 1960, Box 1028, PPP.

p. 289: “J.F.K. has made the point”: J. K. Galbraith to Louis Harris, Sept. 27, 1960, Box 74, John K. Galbraith Papers, JFKL.

p. 289: Higher marks: Gallup, 1683.

p. 289: The Gaither report: Ambrose,
Eisenhower,
434-35.

p. 289: DDE knowledge and briefings: Beschloss,
Crisis Years,
25-26; DDE to JFK, Aug. 19, 1960, Box 29, POF, and Earle G. Wheeler OH. Also see James P. Warburg to JFK, Sept. 21, 1960; JFK to Warburg, Oct. 18, 1960, James P. Warburg Papers, JFKL; and Solis Horwitz OH, which emphasizes that DDE never refuted the missile gap and that “there was no question in anybody’s mind that there was a missile gap.” For the argument that JFK knew there was no missible gap: Beschloss,
Crisis Years,
25-27, and Richard Reeves, 58-59, 671-72.

p. 289: Kennedy was in possession: “The Gap,” “Notes,” and “Weapons Evaluation,” n.d., Box 771; Stuart Symington to JFK, Sept. 2, 1960, Box 733, PPP. “National Defense,” n.d., Box 75, John B. Martin Papers. Also see Deirdre Henderson to Sorensen, n.d., 1960, Box 1, Deirdre Henderson Papers, JFKL.

pp. 289-90: JFK-Dulles conversation: Beschloss,
Crisis Years,
26.

p. 290: Democrats warned Kennedy: Walt W. Rostow OH; “Who Is Responsible for the Defense Lag?” n.d., Box 771, PPP. Also Eleanor Roosevelt to JFK, Oct. 24, 1960, Box 32, POF.

p. 290: “would be a very dangerous”: Quoted in Beschloss,
Crisis Years,
24-25.

p. 290: JFK on Cuba: Press Conference, Sept. 2, 1960, Box 1027, PPP; and “Kennedy Assails Nixon Over Cuba,“
New York Times,
Oct. 7, 1960.

p. 290: “What are the Soviets’”: Memo headed “Khrushchev” and subtitled “Cuba,” n.d., Box 540, PPP.

p. 290: “stop talking about Cuba”: Dean Acheson OH. The best discussion of the flap over Cuba is in Parmet,
JFK,
45-49.

p. 291: “endorse and support”: A. Willis Robertson to JFK, July 19, 1960, Box 535, PPP.

p. 291: “I understand”: JFK to Robertson, July 27, 1960, ibid.

p. 291: “Now in five minutes”: Wofford, 58; and see 58-65 for the campaign’s civil rights activities.

pp. 291-92: On Adam Clayton Powell, see Thomas, 100. Also see “Appearance by JFK Before National Conventions of Negro Organizations,” n.d., Box 536; Shriver to Sorensen, Aug. 8, 1960, and JFK Memo, Aug. 30, 1960, Box 543; and “Record of JFK on Civil Rights and Race Relations,” n.d., Box 1061, PPP.

p. 292: “There are no Federal”:
Meet the Press,
Oct. 16, 1960, Box 780, PPP.

pp. 292-93: The King episode is recounted in Wofford, 13-26, and Thomas, 100-103.

p. 293: Polls: Gallup, 1689-90.

p. 293: “the situation looks”: James Farley to JFK, Oct. 20, 1960, Box 33, James Farley Papers, LC.

p. 293: “wearing the proper”: Eric Sevareid,
Boston Globe,
Aug. 18, 1960.

p. 293: “lesser of two evils”: Edward L. Bernays to John B. Martin, Sept. 15, 1960, Box 73, John B. Martin Papers.

p. 293: “an image of calm”: Charles Kuralt,
Eyewitness to History,
Nov. 4, 1960, CBS TV, Freedom of Communications, Part III, JFKL.

p. 293: “The crowds tensed him up”: Quoted in Summers, 204.

pp. 293-94: “the change in Kennedy”: Ibid.

p. 294: “in our politics”: Quoted in Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
76.

p. 294: For JFK’s response to the vote count and the vote itself: Sorensen, 238-40; Parmet,
JFK,
56-59; White,
Making, 1960,
350-51, 385-87; and Bernard Bailyn, xxii-xxiii.

p. 295: For analysis of the vote: See Louis Harris to Joseph Alsop, Nov. 16, 1960, “An Analysis of the 1960 Election for President,” Joseph and Stewart Alsop Papers, LC; White,
Making, 1960,
350-65; Sorensen, 238-51.

pp. 295-96: On fraud allegations: See Sen. Theodore F. Green to Attorney Gen. William P. Rogers, Nov. 12, 1960; James H. Duffy to JFK, Nov. 14, 1960, Box 110, POF. Also David Greenberg, “It’s a Myth That Nixon Acquiesced in 1960,”
Los Angeles Times,
Nov. 10, 2000.

p. 296: “Why, even our friend”: William Benton OH, Columbia University.

Chapter 9: The Torch Is Passed

p. 299: “more perplexed”: Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
118.

p. 299: “jubilant:” Sorensen, 255.

p. 299: “hurt his self-confidence”: Henry Brandon OH.

p. 299: “How did I”: O’Donnell and Powers, 229.

p. 299: His hands trembled: White,
Making, 1960,
348. Sheldon Stern says that films at the JFKL show other instances of JFK’s trembling hands, which could have been caused by exhaustion, medications, or nervousness. Stern to Author, April 19, 2002.

p. 299: One reporter: Parmet,
JFK,
59.

pp. 299-300: “still seemed tired”: Sorensen, 268.

p. 300: “Jesus Christ”: Quoted in Richard Reeves, 25.

p. 300: “I have been through”:
New York Times,
Nov. 10, 1960.

p. 300: An article based:
New York Times,
Jan. 11, Jan. 17, 1961.

p. 300: Remain in the hands: For a revised view of DDE, see Greenstein.

pp. 300-01: Appointing prominent: See Dallek,
Flawed Giant,
8-9.

p. 301: Dulles and Hoover: Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
125.

p. 301: “I haven’t the slightest”: O’Donnell and Powers, 229.

p. 301: The
NYT
reported:
New York Times,
Nov. 15, 1960.

p. 302: For JFK’s views of DDE, see Robert Kennedy OH; Charles Spalding OH.

p. 302: For DDE’s view of JFK, see Earl Mazo OH, Columbia University. Also see Parmet,
JFK,
72, and Ambrose,
Eisenhower,
597.

p. 302: The HST-DDE meeting: Ambrose,
Eisenhower,
14-15.

p. 302: “I was anxious”: JFK undated notes, Box 29, POF.

p. 302: “the present national security”: Informal List of Subjects to be Discussed at Meeting of President Eisenhower and Senator Kennedy, Dec. 5, 1960; John H. Sharon to JFK, Dec. 5, 1960; Briefing Memoranda for Meeting with President Eisenhower, Dec. 6, 1960, Box 29A, POF.

p. 302: “to avoid direct involvement” and DDE’s topics for discussion: Sharon to JFK, Dec. 5, 1960, Box 29A, POF.

p. 303: For the Dec. 6 meeting and their views of each other, see
New York Times,
Dec. 7, 1960; Robert Kennedy OH; Guthman and Shulman, 54-55; John Sharon OH, Columbia University; Parmet,
JFK,
73-74; Richard Reeves, 21-24.

pp. 303-4: JFK’s topics: “Memorandum of Subjects for Discussion . . . Jan. 19, 1961”; “Mr. Kendall dictated,” Jan. 17, 1961, Box 29A, POF.

pp. 304-5: For JFK’s Jan. 19 meeting with DDE, see JFK memo: “I visited E. this morning”; Robert McNamara to JFK, Jan. 24, 1961; Clark Clifford to JFK, Jan. 24, 1961, Box 29A, POF; Clark Clifford OH; Sorensen, 649; Sidey, 37-38; Parmet,
JFK,
80-81; Richard Reeves, 29-33.

p. 305: On Cuba, see Clifford and McNamara memos, Jan. 24, 1961, Box 29A, POF; and Pat Frank to Bob Kennedy, Aug. 6, 1960; Telephone Calls, Oct. 25, 1960, Pre-Admin., Political Files, RFK Papers, JFKL.

p. 306: “capacity to dominate”: Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
120.

p. 306: “If I am elected”: Quoted in Clifford, 319.

p. 306: “except the right”: Quoted in Sorensen, 258.

pp. 306-7: JFK and Neustadt: Richard Neustadt, “Organizing the Transition,” Sept. 15, 1960, Box 31, POF; Richard Neustadt OH, Columbia University; Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
122-23.

p. 307: The best discussion of JFK’s transition is in Brauer, chap. 2.

p. 307: No women were considered: Sheldon Stern to Author, April 19, 2002.

p. 307: White House insiders: O’Donnell and Powers, 225.

p. 307: “The President was remarkably accessible”: Sorensen, 419; also 293-96.

p. 308: “Jack has asked me”: Wofford, 68.

p. 308: “appointing outstanding men” and “For the last four years”: O’Donnell and Powers, 234.

p. 308: Schlesinger related his conversation with JFK to me, and told me that he saw the president two or three times a week. For the rest on Schlesinger, see Sorensen, 296-97.

p. 309: “If I string along”: O’Donnell and Powers, 235.

p. 309: The economy: State of the Union Message,
PPP: JFK, 1961,
19-20.

p. 309: The balance of payments: Roy Blough, et al., to JFK, Jan. 18, 1961, Box 1073. Conversations between Paul Nitze and Douglas Dillon, Nov. 18, 30, 1960; and Erik Blumenfeld to Ted Sorensen, Nov. 22, 1960, Box 1076, PPP. “The outflow of gold . . . interested and concerned the President more than any other matter over a longer period of time” (George Smathers OH). Also see Bernstein, 21-23.

pp. 310-11: Dillon’s background and appointment: Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
133-36; Dean Acheson OH; Clifford OH; Gore, 147; Parmet,
JFK,
65-66; Bernstein, 127-28; Richard Reeves, 27-28; Guthman and Shulman, 40;
Time,
Jan. 2, 1961.

p. 311: On the CEA and Heller: Walter Heller OH; Walter Heller, “The Meeting with the President-elect,“ Dec. 23, 1960; and “Recollections of Early Meetings with Kennedy,” Jan. 12, 1964, Box 5, Walter W. Heller Papers, JFKL; Parmet,
JFK,
76; Bernstein, 123-25; Richard Reeves, 26-27.

p. 311: “I need you”: Heller, “Recollections.”

p. 312: McNamara’s appointment: Shapley, chaps. 1-5, especially 82-86. McNamara, 13-17.

p. 313: For the RFK quote: Guthman and Shulman, 35-36.

p. 313: “The Ship of State”: Myer Feldman OH.

p. 313: “I talked over the presidency”: Richard Reeves, 666, n. 25.

p. 313: On AES: Abraham Ribicoff OH, William Atwood OH, John Sharon OH, all Columbia University. Charles Bartlett to JFK, n.d., but clearly after JFK’s nomination (“I am given an extremely strong impression . . . that Adlai, when he meets you next week, intends to hit you hard for a commitment on the State Dept. Job”), Box 27, POF. AES to JFK, Nov. 11, 1960, Box 33, POF.

p. 314: “Fuck him”: Ribicoff OH.

p. 314: “might forget”: Quoted in Richard Reeves, 25.

p. 314: AES appointment to UN: William McCormick Blair Jr. OH, Columbia University; JFK-AES Press Conference, Dec. 8, 1960, Box 1060, PPP; Schlesinger,
A Thousand Days,
138-39.

p. 314: “‘a shit list’”: Sharon OH.

p. 314: On Bowles and Bundy, see Brauer, 86.