A hidden switch by his knee triggered a reel-to-reel recorder Secret Service agent Robert Bouck built into the room that July. By November 1963 it held some 260 hours of Cabinet Room strategy and private calls, a self-made record he never explained. Historians still argue over why he really started taping.
His recordings are a fascinating insight to the man. His phone calls to his predecessor, General Eisenhower, show an open-minded leader consulting his wise and experienced predecessor. His respect for the general, and the general's respect for him, come across strongly.
His recordings are a fascinating insight to the man. His phone calls to his predecessor, General Eisenhower, show an open-minded leader consulting his wise and experienced predecessor. His respect for the general, and the general's respect for him, come across strongly.
When Kennedy was elected, Eisenhower privately disparaged the new president as "the boy." Eisenhower's vice-president, Richard Nixon, whom Kennedy had beaten in the election, was a long-time friend of Kennedy. He told Eisenhower that Kennedy may be inexperienced but he was one of the most brilliant people he, Nixon, had ever known, and predicted Eisenhower would soon be impressed by him. Eisenhower quickly changed his opinion of Kennedy and really valued their phone calls. At JFK's funeral, Mrs Kennedy told Eisenhower how much Jack valued their chats.
The recordings paint an impressive picture of Kennedy as competent, always reading and learning, and being a deep strategic thinker. I am struck with the way Kennedy recorded his calls, showing him warts and all. In contract, Irish cabinet minutes are extremely uninformative and don't recall who said what.
Leaders should be able to record all their phone calls so how decisions are taken become obvious. Obviously, security issues need to be strictly embargoes. One Kennedy call shows an angry Kennedy furious at what had been delivered to the White House to equip it for the birth of son. Sadly his son died. It showed a different side to Kennedy - not a president but a husband and father fiercely protective of his wife and soon-to-be-born son.
Kennedy died before his legacy had been settled. The calls show the immense ability snuffed out in Dallas in November 1963. The calls prove Nixon correct in describing Kennedy as a man of exceptional ability and a deep thinker.
It is fascinating to think that the US in 1960 had a presidential election where two close friends ran against each other. They were so close that when Kennedy's back pain got too bad during all night meetings of Congress Kennedy would go to Nixon's office to sleep on the couch as it was far nearer than his own.
In one election Kennedy came into Nixon's office to say his father wanted to donate to Nixon's congressional campaign. Nixon suspected it was really a donation from Jack himself, but as a Democrat he couldn't be seen donating to a GOP candidate.
Nixon was invited to attend Kennedy's wedding but due to a prior commitment couldn't attend. Nixon's obvious affection for Kennedy came across in interviews in retirement. They were elected to Congress at the same time as each other, sat on many of the same committees and co-operated closely.
At the time close friendships across parties were commonplace. They could disagree but it did not become personal, like John McCain, Joe Biden and Lindsey Graham. They completely disagreed on things but were very close friends. That is how politics and life should be. Left wing firebrand Aneurin Bevan and King George VI were close friends. They bonded over both having crippling stutters. Bevan's famed bombastic style of speaking was his way of controlling his stutter.
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