Thurston Clarke - JFK's Last 100 Days

In the coming days there promises to be a plethora of books on President John F. Kennedy as we move toward the 50th anniversary of his assassination on November 22, 1963.  I thoroughly enjoyed this account of his last 100 days.  This book was a genuine pleasure to read.  I will be adding more to this post in the next few days.

This book is clearly admiring of JFK, but it is not total hagiography.  The author is clear about Kennedy's philandering and his mendacity regarding his healthy.  The general theme is that JFK was getting his act together in his last days before he died and moving the country forward.  It is pleasant to think this was so.
Makes us wish more than ever that we knew what would have happened in the country and the world if he had lived.

The author makes it clear that JFK had little use for Lyndon Johnson.  Would he have dumped LBJ from the ticket in 1964?  We will never know, of course, for the available evidence is mixed.

The book begins in August of 1963 with the death of infant Patrick, the Kennedy's second born son.  Patrick died shortly after being born prematurely.  This tragedy hung over both Jack and Jackie in the President's last days.

One thing that stuck me reading this book is that it seemed that JFK left DC every weekend.  Did the President of the United States never work on weekends back then?  :)

The biggest takeaway is that the author thinks that had JFK lived, the '64 civil rights would still have become law.  We will never know, but from I know, LBJ got that bill pushed thru Congress.  I have my doubts that it would have passed if JFK were still the President.  Ditto the voting rights act and Medicare.  It's chilling to think that it might have took Johnson becoming President under the worst of circumstances to achieve these landmark progressive measures.
The book cites many evidences of people warning JFK not to go to Dallas.  The President didn't want to go, but felt he had to in order to breach the schism in Lonestar politics between Sen. Yarborough and Gov. Connally.  Good politics dictated a trip to Texas.  He was even warned to visit Texas yes, but avoid Dallas, but to no avail.  Circumstances could have precluded a travel route that avoided driving slowly by the infamous Texas Schoolbook Depository but it didn't happen.  History turned on a particular motorcade travel route.

JFK was perhaps the most intellectually curious President we've had.  Only TR comes to mind to rival him in this regard.  The author stresses that Kennedy could get bored quickly and would doodle in meetings when he became bored and his mind wandered.

This President was greatly influenced by history.  He was always mindful of what his place in history might be.  JFK was perhaps our most historically minded President.  Only Jefferson comes to mind to rival him in this regard.

This President's most enduring legacy is the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.  This President guided us thru that harrowing crisis that really could have led to nuclear war.  If based on nothing else, JFK deserves a high place in world history for his handling of this unique moment in world events.  Ditto the Berlin crisis in 1961.

Indeed, JFK came into office seeking to lower tensions between the US and the USSR and further cause of world peace.  He achieved his aim with the nuclear test ban treaty, an unmitigated success.