From: jmk@cbnews.cb.att.com (joseph.m.knapp)
Subject: Re: Pat Robertson
Organization: AT&T
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1992 18:45:27 GMT

elendil@mintir.new-orleans.la.us (Edward J. Branley) writes:
>In studying the 1960 election, one of the things that will always stick out in
>my mind are the attacks made by the GOP on JFK for being Roman Catholic.
>Accusations that if JFK would be elected, the country would be ruled from Rome,
>and other such nonense.  It's sort of funny (in a sick, perverted way) that the
>party that was so afraid of being controlled by a religious group in 1960 is
>now totally dominated and controlled by the Radical Religious Right thirty-two
>years later.

Right on. Since you mention JFK's problems with the P-word (Pope), you may be
interested that some in the press compared Governor Clinton's speech to the 
American Legion convention in Chicago last Tuesday (8/25) to the speech given
to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association by then Senator John F. Kennedy
on September 12, 1960. In retrospect, both men won points for confronting
what might be called their character issues by speaking about them candidly
before a tough audience -- and more or less winning them over, defusing the
issue. Of course, it's no accident that the press made this comparison, as
Clinton brought up the analogy himself in his address:

      "In 1960, John Kennedy told the Greater Houston Ministerial Association
       that they should not oppose him just because he was a Catholic. He
       said, 'If I should lose this election on the real issues, I shall be
       satisfied that I tried my best and was fairly judged.'"

One more thing: I may have read too much about JFK, but I see the spirit of
JFK in a lot of Clinton's campaign. How about this -- in Austin last Thursday,
Clinton addressed an outdoor rally at the LBJ School of Government. After a
crowd warm-up by Senator Gore, Clinton took the podium. After delivering the
straight-line "do you love Hillary?," the Governor apologized that his wife
was running a little late. During his opening comments a few minutes later,
there was apparently something distracting the crowd. Hillary then appeared
at the podium in a bright red dress to a rousing welcome from the crowd,
which began chanting "Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!"

OK, set the way-back machine to the morning of November 22, 1963. President
Kennedy is attending a breakfast given in his honor at the Hotel Texas in
Fort Worth. Problem is, Mrs. Kennedy is a no-show, apparently still up in
her hotel room. The question foremost in everyone's mind was "Where is
Jackie?" The President apologized that it takes her a little longer to get 
ready than he does. William Manchester wrote about what happened when she 
finally made her grand entrance:

      "The introduction lacked only a stentorian roll of snare drums. She
       appeared smiling tentatively, and was greeted by pandemonium. Two
       thousand cheering Texans were standing on their chairs."

Jackie was wearing her famous pink wool suit (to the dismay of Nellie Connally,
who had chosen the same suit). Another nice coincidence: both Lady Bird
Johnson and Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough were at Jackie's Hotel Texas 
appearance in 1963, and also were present last week for Hillary Clinton's 
version.

---
Joe Knapp    jmk@cbvox.att.com
Newsgroups: alt.politics.elections