The Week Before Kennedy Died

At the moment that the sniper's bullet claimed the life of John F. Kennedy, it changed forever how he would be viewed by us. He became a martyr and, with his youthful energy, also a man frozen in time. But what was going on with John Kennedy immediately before that tragedy, and what was the attitude of the nation towards the president? This Time magazine is actually dated November 22, 1963 and was the issue on the newstands the day JFK was hot.

Washington Hostesses: Nicole Alphand
November 22, 1963

The cover features Washington hostess Nicole Alphand, wife of then French ambassador to the U.S. Herve' Alphand. It details the capitol's social whirl, saying that from September to May there are roughly 200 official parties a month in Washinton, perhaps 20 times as many private ones, and that Alphand was among the best of the dozens of hostesses keeping the champagne pouring and the canapes circulating. It's hard to imagine the French ambassador and his wife being the toast of Washington these days, isn't it?

What is arresting about this issue, however, is the political talk and the reporting that mentions President Kennedy. It's easy to look back now and think that Kennedy was a shoo-in for re-election but this issue starts out with its "Nation" section devoted to Republicans who seem to be falling over themselves for a chance to take him on.

In the late fall of 1963 the basic Republican Party facts are these: Only a year ago Nelson Rockefeller seemed to have his party nomination wrapped up, and only a month ago that same nomination appeared to be Goldwater's for the asking. But, unless it has an incumbent President seeking re-election, no party can afford to concede its highest prize so far in advance.

The big article, then, was about whether or not Richard Nixon is going to try to get the nomination from Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. But New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller is also a factor (and would have been the front-runner if he hadn't divorced his wife and gotten re-married a year earlier). Also honorably mentioned as possible candidates were Michigan Governor George Romney and Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton. What's quite interesting, though, is the interview Time has with Nixon.

"...it's because there is a disillusionment with Kennedy. The election results in the major cities are a storm signal. So there is the possibility that Kennedy could be beaten, and this is an increasing possibility. As this possibility increases, so does the interest in getting a Republican who can win. I find there is a correlation between Kennedy's failures and interest in me. As he goes down, the stock of any potential Republican candidate goes up."

In that same interview, former vice-president Nixon (and 1960 nominee) speaks about Vietnam, especially the U.S. endorsed military coup in South Viet Nam that he thought could render Kennedy vulnerable.

"If this Viet war goes sour, Viet Nam could be a hot issue next year. If it goes well, it won't be. It's strange to me, when we are fawning over Tito, catering to Kadar, accommodating Khrushchev, we don't have the decency to express our sympathy to a family which was a real foe of Communism."

Next up in the magazine was their section called "The Presidency" which included a round-up of Kennedy's week. It starts by pointing out that the normally upbeat Kennedy had been in "ill humor" at his last press conference (the one that would be the last of his presidency) over the failure of Congress to move on his tax cut proposal (see, George Bush wasn't the only tax-cutter!) and his various civil rights bills. Kennedy, by the way, wanted to cut $11-billion in taxes in 1960 dollars.

Kennedy had also visited Arlington National Cemetery that week, the place that would become his final resting place, and had taken his 2 1/2 year old son, John Jr. or "John-John." The shocker in this article, however, detailed a trip to New York taken by Kennedy. Check this out.

Near week's end, Kennedy flew into Manhattan, aged his Secret Service detail ten years by forgoing the usual motorcycle escort into the city. At one of ten midtown traffic lights that stopped the presidential limousine, an ambitious female camera bug rushed up and fired a flashbulb at Kennedy's side of the car. Moaned a New York police official: "She might well have been an assassin." (italics mine) As for the purpose of the President's stop-and-go entrance into New York, the official explanation was that he wanted no "fuss and feathers."

Another item that goes against the post-assassination perception grain was later in the magazine, under the "Education" section in an article that tried to describe college students of 1963. It calls them "The Personalists" -- people who stress self-development -- and discusses their disillusionment with, of all people, John Kennedy. Chatham College's Edward Eddy cites "youth's decreasing identification with the Kennedy Administration," tracing it to "the shock and the terror" that hit collegians during last fall's Cuban crisis.

Campus disenchantment with President Kennedy now spreads far and wide. At conservative Georgia Tech, the complaint is that "he's interfering with my personal life" through Big Government. At liberal Reed, where "he doesn't inspire respect as Stevenson did," the gripe is Kennedy's caution on the civil rights bill. At exuberant Wisconsin, "he's liked in a negative way," faulted for lack of political conviction. "We're sick of him," say dissidents at Jesuit Georgetown.

How much of this is truly representative and how much is wishful Time thinking preparing the battlefield for a presidential election less than a year away is debatable. It's clear, however, that a week before he died, President John F. Kennedy had already established a habit of lax security on his travels and presided over a country where he still had a lot of enemies. Those two issues, brought out by Time in this issue, would come together in Dallas and write a powerful final chapter.