we had a family that was on top of the world. >> think of the geography of hyannisport.the main house where rose and joseph kennedy live. next to it, you have the house where bobby and ethel live. behind it, you have the house where jack and jackie kennedy live. and now, this compound is the center of the world. this was the realization, the dynastic dream of joseph p. and rose kennedy. you. >> next, the kennedys. >> ask what you can do for your country. >> jack believed in the promise of america. >> kennedy was walking into an ambush and he had no idea. >> turns out to be an unmitigated disaster. >> jack needed someone to watch his back. >> i am pleased to accept the position of the attorney generalship. >> he says, grab your balls, let's go. >>> i, john fitzgerald kennedy, do solemnly swear -- >> just over 100 years after his family first set foot in the country, john f. kennedy becomes president of the united states of america. the kennedys have achieved their dream. but in his first year in the white house, jfk learns winning power is one thing, wielding it is anothe

he retreats to the family compound. >> hyannisport was sanctuary for the kennedys.an, despite everything that was going on, when they got together at the compound, all of that was forgotten. >> jack finds solace in his ever-growing extended family. in addition to his own children, john jr. and caroline, his brothers and sisters have 17 children between them. >> the excitement when the helicopter landed and then they would take us for a ride on the golf cart with all the cousins. there were games and there was sailing, and there were parties every night. there was always something going on. >> i think it's those moments that really kept them sane and focused on who they were and what their mission was. especially their political goals because a lot of politics talk was going on there. it was the center of all power. >> the kennedys may have power, but jack is frustrated by how difficult it is to achieve real progress. he needs his brother now more than ever. >> bobby became the chief law enforcement guy. he became his chief foreign policy adviser. he became his chief

. >> jack's father joe, confined to a wheelchair, is at home in hyannisport. >> he demanded that theyfor a ride. because he was going to go to the funeral in washington. and he drove to the airport where the kennedy plane was kept. and when he saw that the plane was no longer there, he went back and he watched it on television. >> funeral proceedings were conducted in open spaces with jackie walking with bobby and ted. a secret service agent tried to convince her to not do a lot of what she intended to do. considering the fact that her husband was just killed by a sniper, she was taking a risk. but she took it for the country. she knew the kind of closure that america needed. >> jacqueline kennedy had such an eye for image and art. and she used every bit of that talent to plan the president's funer funeral. >> she thought of the military touch of the riderless horse with the boots turned backwards in the stirrup to indicate that the leader has fallen. >> all of america was there with her. in fact, i think much of the world was there with her. it just seemed that something good had dis

she swam again at hyannisport. she came to visit in maryland with the shrivers. she at dinner at ted's, on eunice's arm. she brought her back to the heart of the family and she said there until she died in 2005 with all of her siblings at her side at s.a.t. coleta's. -- st. coleta's. she goes to the bedroom, props herself up, with typical fashion, with pencils out of her hair, all kinds of scattershot ways, has a scattering of legal pads on her bed. she summons lowell weicker to her bedside, former governor and senator from connecticut, father of a child with intellectual disabilities, now an adult. lowell weicker goes to her side thinking this will be a friendly chat. he knows she is in ailing health. by now ted has been diagnosed with the brain tumor that would take his life the following summer. he said, you walked into the room and there she is, as fierce as she has ever been, saying, oh, what are we going to do about these amendments to the americans with disabilities act? i'm worried? what if tom harkin retires? what will we do without orrin hatch? [laughte

. >> in the summer of 1944, the kennedy family gathers at hyannisport on the coast of massachusetts, jr. sends disappointing news. >> his father and mother expected him home any day now. then in july they get this strange letter. and he says, i'm part of a special mission, but don't worry. it's not dangerous. see you in september. >> joe kennedy's already flown his 25 missions. he could go home. but he volunteers for extra duty. he's going to fly in a bomber stuffed with explosives towards a secret german weapon on the french coast. >> he would set the fuse and then he would bail out of the plane along with his co-pilot over the english channel. the plane would be set on remote, and it would attack these superguns that were being put in place by hitler on the coast of france, and this was, in joe kennedy jr.'s mind, the way to be a hero. >> he said, in case i don't come back, please tell my father i love him very much. and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means n