The Presidency: In Need of Polishing

Beset by major problems of world and domestic policy, President Kennedy has had little time for plain old public politicking. Last week, for the first time since his election, he hit the hustings—and his performance plainly needed some polishing.

Strangled Syntax. The first stop in the President’s political week was Fort Smith, Ark., where he tarried just eight minutes between plane and helicopter to endorse Senator William Fulbright, already campaigning hard (TIME, Nov. 3) for re-election next year. But the blessings were brief and the syntax was strangled: “I served in the Senate of the U.S. for eight years with Senator McClellan as a member of the Rackets Committee—where he spoke for what is best in the U.S.; and with Senator Fulbright on the Foreign Relations Committee, who has worked for a strong U.S. in a peaceful world—and also spoke for the interests of Arkansas.”

The next stop was the Kiamachi Valley in Oklahoma’s Choctaw country, where a highway dedication ceremony was scheduled. “Usually the most exciting thing ever happens around here is when the milk truck comes through,” said Nat H. Crosby, the proprietor of the local gas station. “That guy comes through and scatters the chickens good.” As the President winged over the Ozarks, the chickens were securely penned, and the Valley was in a tizzy of excitement.

Some 25,000 visitors streamed in by automobile and pickup truck, by chartered bus and on horseback. Kennedy, flanked by Oklahoma Senator Robert Kerr and Governor J. Howard Edmondson, stood on a bunting-decked stand alongside State Highway 103 and delivered a lackluster five-minute speech: “I can assure you, in the ’60s, as the U.S. carries the standard of freedom everywhere in the world, we will also be carrying the standard of progress here in Oklahoma.” There were some perfunctory pats for Bob Kerr, Senator Mike Monroney and Representative Carl Albert. Then the President snipped a ribbon across the newly completed highway.

In just half an hour, Kennedy was airborne again, on the way to spend the night at Kerr’s lavish (13 bathrooms) ranch house. Next morning the President flew back to Washington, where he entertained Harry and Bess Truman overnight at the White House. Then he was off again, to New York and New Jersey. At La Guardia Airport, Mayor Robert Wagner, growing increasingly nervous about this week’s election, was waiting on the apron to greet him. The President’s endorsement was in a mimeographed handout, which he did not read: “I want to take this opportunity to state with the utmost conviction my wholehearted support for the re-election of Mayor Robert Wagner. His experience in coping with the problems of this great city cannot be matched.” Then, with a bravely smiling Wagner at his side, Kennedy made a half-hour tour of the city in an open car.

Digs & Debates. The President’s final stop was in Trenton, where a heated gubernatorial race between Republican James Mitchell and Democrat Richard Hughes was coming to a close. At the Trenton War Memorial, Kennedy threw away his prepared text with some digs for his old adversary, Dick Nixon: “I was interested the other day to see where Mr. Nixon suggested that Governor Rockefeller and Senator Goldwater should engage in some debate. I wish he would come over here and suggest that Mr. Mitchell stand up and debate Judge Hughes on the problems of New Jersey.”

In his Trenton speech, there were flashes of the 1960 Kennedy style, but it was apparent that the President would need some more practice before he was back in peak politicking form again. His schedule for the next fortnight—which will take him to California, Washington and Arizona—indicated that that was what he had in mind.