Change We Needed: The Making of a President

I am only halfway through it but on this election eve, I recommend the new book by David Pietrusza, 1960: LBJ Vs. JFK Vs. Nixon. I just finished the chapter on how Sinatra's Rat Pack (and Hollywood in general) stepped up to help elect JFK. Parts of it are shocking reminders of another time. Pietrusza tells how Sammy Davis, Jr. was first applauded and then cruelly booed (by the Mississippi delegation, while others looked on) after he started singing his part in a large group sing of the national anthem that opened the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, July 1960. Davis was deeply hurt, and Sinatra was very angry. Still, they stuck with the campaign, and Davis even called Sinatra, after the convention horror, to tell him he was "delaying" his marriage to May Brit until after the election! However, things quickly soured, mostly due to Joe Kennedy. It's a fascinating chapter in a big story.

Pietrusza's book is informational, if not definitive. It fills in a lot, especially for me who was pretty young at the time. I was reminded just how Rove-like and ruthless Ol' Joe Kennedy really was, how incredibly obnoxious Bobby could be at that time, and how much the Kennedys worked all angles, steam-rolling the opposition with intimidation and cash. Interesting it is, if Pietrusza is to be believed. There are some good chapters on the VP selection process, as Pietrusza tells how JFK took a big step beyond ego in seeking the assist of rival LBJ (who comes off here as pretty meek next to some other portraits by other writers). Here the author includes Kennedy's "I am not going to die in office" quote. He also relates the almost forgotten story of Nixon's odd move towards the center in an effort to get Nelson Rockefeller on his ticket, only to be humiliated when, after a whole lot of negotiation on Rockefeller turf, he was turned down. Rockefeller leaked an agreement, The Compact of Fifth Avenue--new to me--which was a set of points on national and domestic policy that included Civil Rights. This was incorporated into the party platform, and it may have cost Nixon the election--and paved the way for Goldwater....All conventions and campaigns are different, and each has lessons. I wonder where the events of 2008 will lead, and what we will learn about them in the many years to come.