kennedy. november 22nd, 1963 forever changed us and whale we remember tonight what jack kennedy achieved in his lifetime we mark too the role of his brothers robert and edward kennedy. >>> the kennedy brothers. they stirred the country's blood and maddened their rivals. bill safire, richard nixon's speechwriter put it this way -- when you beat a kennedy, you beat the best. the trouble was, nobody did. here is the "hardball" political story of how these extraordinary brothers sought the american presidency. >>> let the word go forth from this time -- >> we have the capacity to make this the best generation. >> let us offer new hope. >>> in the 1950s, politics meant men in gray flannel suits, guys like dwight eisenhower, robert taft, adlai stevenson, and richard nixon. they were dull, stodgy and sexless. then in 1956 someone new appeared on the political radar. at the democratic convention in chicago that summer, a young politician battled the old guard for the vice presidential nomination and in the process catapulted himself on to the national stage. his name was jack kennedy. >> i want to take this opportunity first to express my appreciation. >> he was young, ali

kennedy. senator ted kennedy, and jackie kennedy, the former first lady, buried at this beautiful site. >> and also, ethel kennedy, also. >> you see ethel there, as they go up the stairs. and bill clinton has the iconic photo, the brief meeting with john f. kennedy, when bill clinton was a young man. and bill clinton loved that photo. used it in his presidential campaign. president obama was a young man when this all happened. his wife was born after president kennedy was assassina assassinated. in 2008, when senator kennedy and caroline kennedy endorsed -- both of these presidents right here, clinton and obama, have a connection to the kennedy family that's been important to them politically. and they thought it was important to do this today. >> and i heard you say that over the last half century or so, the political history of the u.s. is the history of the kennedy family. >> if you just look back, if you think about it, we always talk about expectations of the moment. well, when jack kennedy ran for the presidency, it wasn't supposed to be him. it was supposed to be his older brother, joe,

kennedy, people who are eyewitnesses to history. people who covered president kennedy, have studied president kennedy, are related to president kennedy. we're excited about all that we have planned for today and we begin today in dallas, 50 years ago, this friday. john fitzgerald kennedy, the president of the united states, was on a political visit to texas to mend fences in an intrapart feud among state democrats. first lady jacquelineccompanyin first of many trips as her president prepared to seek a second term. it was the middle of the day when the motorcade reached daley plaza in downtown dallas. >> it is approaching 12:30 p.m. dallas time. the crowds and the tall business district are overfilling the sidewalks. some throw streamers and torn paper in a miniature ticker-tape parade. the reporters look at each other, there have about no incidents. 12:32, the crowds are thinner. nbc cameraman dave wigman takes a passing shot of a building and three shots are heard, like toy explosions. wigman jumps from his car, running towards the president with his camera running. people scream and lie down, grabbing their children. >> that was ro

all the other kennedys -- not necessarily bobby kennedy. but all the other kennedysequent generations go left, more left and even more left. what the hell happened, michael? why did they disown the president's real legacy in. >> well, as practicing politicians, they have to evolve with their party or leave it. they weren't willing to leave it. they've got to evolve to address its constituencies. if kennedy himself had lived, he would have faced the changing composition of the democratic party, the changing nature of his constituents' ideas, too. >> brian, it was odd to me, it's hard to figure this stuff. but the democratic party has never been the same. after kennedy, the democratic party moves left, left, left and more left. ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. brian, that is completely antithetical to what the democratic party does today and has for decades stood for. >> i don't know why, larry, the democratic party doesn't come back to its true roots, which is standing in the face of sluggishness, even if it's engendered b

alabama democratic electoral votes for the electors to kennedy went kennedy's name wasn't even on the ballot. that is how much opposition it was to kennedy if you subtract those votes kennedy lost the popular vote to nixon. if nixon had done one thing, forget about the debates. you can argue that either way. the first one helped kennedy that the affected worn off by the time of the election. the critical mistake nixon made was in not getting eisenhower out on the campaign trail earlier. why did that happen? maybe eisenhower unbeknownst to president eisenhower had made a call to vice president nixon in the summer saying you know all the problems, health problems that ike has had. please do not put into the test. he can't stand all the strenuous activity. president nixon was doing mimi's getting building and president eisenhower himself was hurt that he was not asked and he was wondered why my not a nast? he didn't know what his wife did none. the best evidence we have. had eisenhower gone out on the campaign trail sure enough eisenhower who was 60% popularity then pulled nixon up virtually into a tie. imagine if he had been campaigning fo

the romantic, the visionary kennedy likened the daring and challenge. but the practical kennedy, a kennedy who checked the ice fretted about the cost and wondered if it was just a cold war stunt. things began to change in the summer of 1963. at a july 20, 1963, press conference the reporter asked him to comment on rumors that the russians were abandoning the moon race and whether we should reconsider our own program. he answered that america had to push on with its own program and called a moon landing important for its own sake, because it would demonstrate the capacity to dominate space. five days later, u.s. and soviet negotiators and moscow agreed on terms of the test ban treaty. it was signed on august 5. on august 26, soviet ambassador came to the oval office, and we know went on because kennedy had a taping system that he activated when he thought there was something interesting, particularly something he wanted to use in his memoirs. he was very competitive in advance about these memoirs. he knew that arthur schlesinger and soldier were going to write memoirs, but they wouldn't hav

kennedy. it's deeply moving. barack obama loves the kennedy family. ted kennedy was his closest ally. if it wasn't for ted kennedy, it's not clear barack obama would have won in 2008 when he backed obama over hillary clinton. now you get the specter of the two titans of the democratic party, bill clinton and barack obama after being at an awards ceremony for the presidential medal now going there to together to pay respects. it's going to be a poignant moment and important moment. i think it's important i think to remember arlington and remember the flame, not just dallas and conspiracy theories on this 50th anniversary. >> and let me bring ennor clift into this part of the conversation. eleanor, as you take a look at this somber ceremony we're about to see, the laying of the wreath, playing of taps, no one's going to talk. they're just going to remember and reflect. what goes through your mind as you think about the 50 years later, if you will? >> this is a powerful democratic small d and big "d" tradition. you have jack kennedy which i think woke the country up and showed us all what

kennedy and lyndon johnson. for the first three years of kennedy's presidency, three years of kennedy's presidency, robert kennedy did everything he could to humiliate lyndon johnson. johnson couldn't use a plane unless robert kennedy's aides signed off on it. johnson calls robert kennedy from the president's bedroom on "air force one." robert kennedy that just learned a few minutes before that his brother died. he was sitting by at a swimming pool -- he lived at this house in mclane, virginia, old house. >> hickory hill. >> hickory hill, andrea, correct. long lawn sloping down to a swimming pool. robert kennedy is having lunch there with his wife ethel and robert morgenthor. he said two things happened simultaneously. he looked up at the house where painters. one has a transister. he has a lock of shock, grabs it and runs down the lawn. at the same time the telephone rings at the other side of the pool. ethel goes to answer it and tells robert it's j. edgar hoover. hoover is saying to robert kennedy, your brother has been shot and perhaps killed. just a few minutes later, the man robert kennedy hates, lyndon joh

but he had so won -- you know, brutalized kennedy, felt kennedy was such a weakling, he figured, well, he learned a different kennedy through the letters. he learned that there was a different kennedy. but kennedy also was wise enough that when they were coming down to maybe -- i guess was it dean rusk, somebody said the other fella just blinked, you know? when kennedy saw him start to blink, he knew something at that young age. okay, i may win this. give him space to save his face. he's got his own people to report or back to. and so he said -- he knew khrushchev was going to ask that kennedy remove the missiles in turkey. those were important missiles. >> yep. >> he was prepared to give them up in a minute, because it was the trade-off. but the most important thing, it's through those letters that you see it. and i don't understand why i've been hobnobbing with the bbc over this book the last couple of days, and they ran my initial interview, my initial brilliant interview -- [laughter] you know the sad thing is i really believe this. [laughter] but anyway -- [laughter] i, they ran the initial interview and then,

kennedy know that he has lost a son. what did this presidency mean to joe kennedy? >> joe kennedy, this was the pinnacle. the fact that his son who was an irish catholic could be elected president meant an enormous amount to joseph kennedy. not only was he the father of a president, but he had witnessed, he thought, a turning point in american history, a turning point that would live forever when the first irish catholic, when the first non-protestant was elected to the presidency. >> waiting in the wings, rfk, waiting in the wings, teddy, and generations who were told to serve. could this possibly have been america's dynasty with regard to presidencies? >> i think so. if jack kennedy had run against goldwater in 1964, he would have won in a landslide -- >> but he almost didn't beat nixon. how close was that election? >> that was the closest ever had. 49.8% of the volt to 49.7% of the vote. >> because people believe kennedy as this huge figure, they think he must have won by a landslide but it was close. >> everybody thought he was going to win by a landslide. all of the experts, all of the journalists we

kennedy of administration was doing. lyndon johnson himself, and it publicly after his white house years that president kennedy in the kennedy administration were running a murder incorporated in the caribbean with castro and other leaders around the world. >> host: why was kennedy in texas in november of 1963? >> guest: it's very clear. there's no question about it. he was trying to help the texas democratic party reunite. they were in a terrible split between the liberals by ralph yarborough and the conservative side by john connolly and he was trying to put the party back together. >> host: connolly was his protÉge and best friend. >> guest: essentially kennedy's presidency is only really understood well in the electoral context that you and i understand well. kennedy had been elected by a smidgen. some say he was not elected all but 118,000 votes at least on the official record. texas, a tiny number of votes. tens of thousands in a large texas electric. electorate. kennedy during his whole term worried about that re-election. it didn't matter that things looked good. he remembered how close he had been. he needed texas a

historic site where you have the former president, you also have bobby kennedy, senator ted kennedy, the three brothers and jackie kennedy, the former first lady buried -- >> they are there with ethyl kennedy. >> you see ethal there as they go up the stairs. bill clinton has the iconic photo as a boy's nation event when bill clinton was a young pan and bill clinton always loved that photo and used it and made the personal connection. president obama of course was a young man when this happened. his wife was born after president kennedy was assassinated but the kennedys were critical. that was when the clinton obama race was atogger head and a big question mark. both of these presidents, clinton and obama have a connection to the kennedy family that is important to them politically and they thought it was important to do this today. >> i heard you say the political history of the u.s. is in many ways the history of kennedy family. >> if you look back, if you think about it, we talk about expectations of the moment. well, when jack kennedy ran for the presidency, it wasn't supposed to be him but his older brother joe. when

kennedy's contributions to and influence over her famed family dynasty. this program is about an hour. >> host: barbara perry it's good to be here with you talking about the kennedys. but that is having grown up catholic i think the kennedys have the particular resonance for us but i wanted to start right off in ask you, you're a supreme court presidential scholar. how did you get interested in rose? >> guest: i've been interested in the kennedy family since i was a little tyke read when i was four years old my mother to me and my brothers to downtown louisville. she piled the center 56 chevrolet and drove us downtown to the courthouse. she was completely drawn to this new candidate on the scene in the presidential race senator john f. kennedy. >> host: do you think because he was catholic a little bit? >> guest: i have to think i that was a major part of it in addition to which he was about her age so she was the new generation to which the torch was being passed that i point out what she loved history and politics she wasn't as active in grassroots politics and didn't particularly like driving downtown on a very busy streets, so i know that it was his charisma and probably as catholicism and let's face it is handsome lo

first of all, kennedy -- reagan in this poll, which kennedy had 85% approval, reagan had 74%. so, people remember the kennedy -- he put a man on the moon, that he called his administration the new frontier. he is frozen in our minds at the aim -- age of 46, and nobody could quite imagine if he walked into this room tonight, he would be 96 years old. it's 50 years later. but he is still young, vital, energetic, an exciting personality. and people are attached to that, and i think -- my teacher was richard hoff steader, a great historian, and he once said to me that america is the only country in the world that believes it was born perfect and strives for improvement. and his is what innocence kennedy gives people to this day. i'd say one other thing. which is that the kennedys are american's dynasty. not the roosevelts or the bushes. and what people find so appealing about them is on the one hand they represent the fulfillment of the american dream. the irish catholic, who became fabulously rich and famous, you see, and on the other hand, so stark horse, that the oldest brother killed in world war ii, the old

first of all, kennedy -- reagan in this poll, which kennedy had 85% approval, reagan had 74%. so, people remember the kennedy -- he put a man on the moon, that he called his administration the new frontier. he is frozen in our minds at the aim -- age of 46, and nobody could quite imagine if he walked into this room tonight, he would be 96 years old. it's 50 years later. but he is still young, vital, energetic, an exciting personality. and people are attached to that, and i think -- my teacher was richard hoff steader, a great historian, and he once said to me that america is the only country in the world that believes it was born perfect and strives for improvement. and his is what innocence kennedy gives people to this day. i'd say one other thing. which is that the kennedys are american's dynasty. not the roosevelts or the bushes. and what people find so appealing about them is on the one hand they represent the fulfillment of the american dream. the irish catholic, who became fabulously rich and famous, you see, and on the other hand, so stark horse, that the oldest brother killed in world war ii, the old

john kennedy, carolyn kennedy. today is john f. kennedy, jr.'s third birthday. is happening. and, where necessary, what it means. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [background sounds] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the ex-president is at the door. he blesses the remains with holy water, reminded of their baptism as their entrance into the church. the solemn procession moves up the aisle of the church. the procession being led by the cross reminds us that it was through the cross of jesus that death was defeated. he is the way, the truth, and the life, and we follow in his footsteps. [background sounds] [inaudible conversations] procession up the aisle refeet psalm singing of our complete heplessness dependent on god and says with the lord there is mother sis, and with him, plenty redemption. they now remove the cape or coat and puts op the proper vestments, the celebration of mass. [background sounds] [background sounds] john fits gerald kennedy holds title to a special place in our hearts and in our prayers, thus many have gathered here in final testimo

changed us and whale we remember tonight what jack kennedy achieved in his lifetime we mark too the role of his brothers robert and edward kennedy. >>> the kennedy country's blood and maddened their rivals. bill safire, richard nixon's speechwriter put it this way -- when you beat a kennedy, you beat the best. the trouble was, nobody did.

i think kennedy is going to remain a kind of heroic figure. >> what do the people that kennedy chose to be around him -- to your book now, "camelot's court: inside the kennedy white house." you mentioned his brother robert as attorney general. what do the men that shed -- that kennedy chose to be around him say about him? >> what they say to us, of course -- there was robert mcnamara at secretary of defense, arthur schlesinger, the and teduse historian, sorensen, his wordsmith, his great speechwriter, and of course, most of all, there was robert kennedy who was the advisor in chief, as i call him in my book -- they remembered him after his assassination understandably with great affection, great regard, and they weren't critical of him at all. historians has been critical of him because, of course, they found out about his womanizing, and they saw him as jeopardizing his presidency. i found out about his health problems, all the medications he was on, and that there was a cover-up of his health difficulties. this doesn't seem to affect his standing with the public. , it is becauset people see him as a kind of celebrity, and they don't care about the womaniz

picture of this guy who's haunted by kennedy's death, he's burdened by some of kennedy's policies, but he also wants to advance some of them, and he may want to use kennedy for his own purposes. or the memory of kennedy. and what are your thoughts on sort of how lyndon johnson factors into how we view kennedy today? >> well, i'm not a johnson expert, but there's a couple of interesting bits in the book about johnson. the first is that when he was picked as vice president, the liberals were outraged. they saw him as a southerner and a gradualist on civil rights. so some of the union guys, the head of the united autoworkers, there was a mini rebellion against kennedy. a lot of those guys would have preferred stephenson anyway. so at the convention when johnson was picked, there's this famous saying where kennedy almost had to uninvite, uninvite johnson to be vice president. part of that was because of this uproar among the liberals. but later on i think you see johnson emerging as more of a liberal figure, at least on domestic policy. and there's another scene in book where johnson after kennedy had been shot meets with walter heller who's a liberal kenned

kennedys recognized that john kennedy belonged to the nation. it was generous on their part. >> we are watching president obama greet the kennedy family. kennedy in the front taking pictures and ethyl kennedy. she is in front of the screen and rfk's widow and what was the lasting legacy of president kennedy? >> boy, i mentioned breaking the catholic barrier and the cuban missile crisis was definitive and so much came from that and so many other decisions rippled through the world and it was very critical moment in the cold war. and from the development of weaponry and the impact on the economy. there was the period of the cia gone wild. i don't know how else to describe it. the president was seen as crossing the ciowa a and the bay of pigs invasion and now couldn't say no to them. and there was an assassination of heads of state and which is part of the controversy with the warren commission and trying to understand all of the los ends and it is a mixed legacy and extremely significant and legendary president so. i noticed your correspondent in the white house called it iconic. that's the best way to describe. it >> thank you, doug. te

kennedy. arthur schlesinger reveals letters with kennedy. he is most often identified with his relationship with kennedy. he supported his campaign for president. he was later appointed as special assistant to kennedy. the letters in this book capture the frank and honest relationship they shared and also the trust kennedy placed in schlesinger. two of schlesinger's sons compiled these letters. i love the book of his diaries, and i'm sure i'm going to love the letters. you guys did a hell of a job. i remember your writing a few years ago called the new democrat. let me ask you about your dad and kennedy. was jack kennedy a liberal by the standards of stevenson and fdr? >> yeah. not only was he a liberal, a self-proclaimed liberal. what democratic president since jack kennedy, maybe lyndon johnson has ever said they were a liberal. yeah. he was. and he was the man who proposed in the 1960 presidential campaign, he proposed medicare, he proposed the peace corps. he was talking about discussions with the soviets about disarmament, he was very much ahead of his time. i think that was one of the reasons it was

. .hat flame continues today and other members of the kennedy family, including robert f kennedy, ~ 1960 eight, senator kennedyd a few years ago and first lady jacqueline kennedy all buried at this site. c-span's continuing coverage of this 50th anniversary here on "washington journal" and through the course of the day and all weekend c-span3's american history tv. --ook at his life and legacy a look at his life and legacy. and chances for you to weigh in with calls and comments. today we are live at the jfk presidential library at 2:30 p.m. eastern time for a ceremony that will be taking place governor remarks by deval patrick and performer james taylor. headlines this friday morning. from "richmond times dispatch" -- photograph as a governor colony and the president leave love field in dallas with jackie kennedy and her now infamous pillbox hat and suit. and this from the orange county register in california -- liz carpenter, a longtime aide to president johnson and lady bird johnson before her passing reflecting on the moments that led to the swearing-in of our 36th president lyndon baines johnson. [video c

body of president kennedy is transferred to an ambulance. >> reporter: only four hours after the president's death first lady jack jacqueline kennedy-- with brother-in-law robert kennedygton, d.c. mrs. kennedy still wearing her blood-stained pink suit. she is said to have refused suggestions she change. as she put it "i want them to see what they have done to jack jax lynn kennedy was a symbol of courage that evening and during the days of mourning that followed. setting the right tone once again-- as she had during her time as first lady. here's susan spencer of "48 hours." >> reporter: inauguration day, 1961. vice president johnson's 16-year-old daughter was mesmerized not by her father taking his oath -- >> i don't think it will make much difference. he's still our father. >> reporter: but by the new first lady. >> we all wonder what did she look like when she woke up in the morning? did she have a bad hair day like the rest of us? because we always saw her looking beautiful. >> reporter: this is a nice picture. >> isn't that beautiful? >> reporter: more important says linda bird johnson robb, behind the scenes she was kind, becoming a friend to an awkward teenager

kennedy white house." his previous book about president kennedy was called "an unfinished life." also here this evening, richard reeves, a senior lecture which you arer at the university of southern california. he also wrote a kennedy book called "president kennedy, a prefile of power." and jeff greenfield joins us. he is a political analyst and author of a new book "if kennedy lived." he's written about politics all his life. jill abramson is the executive editor of the "new york times." he also has written a piece that's gotten a lot of attention in the "new york times" book review called "an elusive president." and joining us from washington, michael beschloss. he is a presidential historian and regular contributor to pbs newshour and nbc news. i am pleased to have all of them here this evening to reflect on president john f. kennedy. let me begin with jill abramson because she wrote a piece that captured my attention and set out to talk about 50 years of books being written about this man. give me a sense of what we know and what these books tell us and whether-- because i'm fascinated by the fact-- that you think a great biography remains to be written. >> i think a truly great book about john f. kennedy remai

kennedy family. you make an important point. remember when caroline kennedy and ted kennedy, caroline said the excitement around then

kennedy. what was mrs. kennedy's relationship with president kennedy's siblings and siblings in law? did she get along with the rest of the kennedy family? >> at first, she found it hard. i'm particularly glad to have a japanese question here given the fact that caroline kennedy is about to go to tokyo for president obama's ambassador to japan. she was an introvert. she liked to read. extrovert. the kennedys are gregarious and extroverted. took her a while to get used to that. >> her sister-in-laws didn't like the debutante way of speaking. they were out playing touch football and she'd prefer to read a book. >> this is talking about the life as a young wife of a senator. >> it might be like being a doctor's wife. a senator must be on call all the time. you don't know when he's on call. >> i suppose it is like being married to a doctor. they have such late hours, go away at a moment's notice. >> you are alone a good deal of the time then? >> yes. >> are you active in committees? or is your job big enough taking care of jack? >> that's it. >> yeah, now jack -- >> you're extremely brig

kennedy family they probably spent more time in his oval office than they had in anyone else since kennedy's assassination. >> host: he presented the congressional gold medal posthumously to be kennedy to robert kennedy that carver himself had refused to present and i was told when i was working on the 1980 book by several sources that the entire family voted for him. >> guest: that's interesting. president carter actually told me a story about his speech at the dedication of the john f. kennedy library, and jackie kennedy was very cold to him according to president carter at the event and that is when he first realized that he didn't just have a problem with ted kennedy, he had a problem for the entire family and they were a big clan. >> host: what should've the readers come away with your book in just a few seconds? >> guest: i think it's important to realize that a tragedy like the assassination has created more out of the presidency of john f. kennedy and we actually read in the historical record and that is the power of people in a democracy. maybe that is one of the ultimate legacies of john f. kennedy short time in the white house. >> that was "after words," booktv signature

kennedy kennedy was the inspiration to our generation. he was the one who told us we could do pretty much anything we wanted to do. america's days were ahead of it. it motivated me and many others to public service and for me into elected office he was an incredible person motivating our country and then in one second, he was gone. and i think we were in shock for several days, nothing happened. we were just in front of the television set watching every minute. hard to come prehelen. what did it mean for our country? what did it mean for our dream? it was a tough time. >> i think you captured it exactly. i had a part-time job. i was i went straight home as soon as i heard about it. and for three days i was glued to the tv. and i think walter cronkite became the dominant figure in a sense because he was so stable and so authoritative during that period. and i think for our generation, the country never recovered. prior to that we had been the country that won world war ii, the country that had eisenhower as a very distant and competent president. kennedyemed to be, i was a support he of the republicans but nonetheless he seemed to be a new, fresh, dynamic leader and then boom. your world changed just like that. if you don't mind, what did you think? >> what i think about kennedy, one of the things that comes to mind is aspirational leadership. i think of jack kemp in my lifetime. a man who has loved people, loved his country and wanted us to aspire to do more. one of the things we're working on is eradicating poverty in our country. >> for me it is a free market approach. there is a way for us to encourage people toward earning successful talk about education reform that gets to a place where kids that grew up in neighborhoods like i grew up in believe in the future and believe this country, this day can change the entire rest of the their lives. >> in ten seconds, what are your thoughts? >> i grew up with, i had action figures, i jamd them jfk and rfk and mlk. my parents were such big supporters of the kings. i want to thank both of

her back to you is kathleen kennedy townsend representing a long line of kennedys who have served the nation in one form or another. all of them being told by the elder kennedy to seek higher office because service they were taught was the highest form of honor in our nation. this being the 50th anniversary of the assassination of president kennedy. the circle being complete as the torch is being passed who was then senator barack obama wanting to be president obama, now he honoring his predecessor. we'll be right back. >> you're looking live at the scene in washington, d.c. the president paying tribute to the 32nd president of the united states, john f. kennedy, placing a wreath at where he's buried in arlington cemetery. >>> a white supremacist who admitted killing 20 people has been executed in the state of missouri. joseph franklin was put to death earlier this morning after the supreme court overturned any stays. he admitted shooting vernon jordan and hustler publisher larry flynt. >>> now as philippines try to recover from typhoon haiyan, the injured and other survivors are being flown out of typhoon ravaged areas and the death toll stands at 4,000 sti

the only surviving member of the immediate kennedy family, jean kennedy smith, the younger sister of president john f. kennedy who served as u.s. a visitor to ireland during the clinton administration, among those on hand for the tribute in the posting of flowers and the regiment, the military regiment. the posting of the colors and the wreath at the tomb of president john f. kennedy. richard reeves, "the kennedy years," joining us from new york. guest: one of my thoughts about all this that we forget really but hits us, the president of the united states is not only the head of government, he is also the head of state. the equivalent of the british prime minister and the queen. the president is the physical embodiment of the american people, so he had a position above party and most of us respond to that, that he speaks for the nation. that is brought home to us because, as we were talking about television, he was in our living room. we thought in some way that we knew this man, which brings us back to the death in the family reaction of millions of people. host: we will watch the scene from arlington cemete

kennedy. what was mrs. kennedy's relationship with president kennedy's siblings and siblings in law? did she get along with the rest of the kennedy family? >> at first, she found it hard. i'm particularly glad to have a japanese question here given the fact that caroline kennedy is about to go to tokyo for president obama's ambassador to japan. she was an introvert. she liked to read. the kennedys are gregarious and extroverted. took her a while to get used to that. >> her sister-in-laws didn't like the debutante way of speaking. she'd prefer to read a book. >> this is talking about the life as a young wife of a senator. >> it might be like being a doctor's wife. you must be on call all the time. you don't know when he's on call. >> i suppose it is like being married to a doctor. they have such late hours, go away at a moment's notice. >> you are alone a good deal of the time then? >> yes. >> are you active in committees? or is your job big enough taking care of jack? >> that's it. >> yeah, now jack -- >> you're brighter in this shot. >> you do it for him? clumsy. does he tell you wh

kennedy was only 33 years old when she wrote that letter just a week later. and obviously, mrs. tippit treasures it, but legally it is part of the property of the kennedy estate. but caroline kennedy, and we're grateful to her for this, said it's okay if you want to share that with the rest of the country. and it is a real treasure. >> quite a revelation. what a lovely woman. tom, thanks. we want to remind all of you tom's special called "where were you when jfk died" airs 9:00 p.m. eastern time here on this nbc station. >>> up next here tonight, the return to the scene of one of the greatest american speeches of all time. >>> four score and seven years ago -- >> -- our fathers brought forth on this continent -- >> -- a new nation. >> our living former presidents who are part of a project by the filmmaker ken burns, urging americans to memorize and celebrate the gettysburg address. it was delivered by president lincoln 150 years ago today. and today the gathered in that very same spot. considering it's one of the most important speeches in american history, think about this. it was only about two minutes long, 272 words in all. and since it was only heard by those in a field in pe

kennedy if he had had a second term? ... i think kennedy would have struggled too in a second term. this is all sheer speculation but kennedy of course comes down to us now as it's an open book. you can write anything onto it you want because he was killed at the age of six, only 1000 days in the white house. he had a sense of the ironic. he would have seen the irony in the fact that his early death gave him this enduring hold on the public and it is fascinating to me because when kennedy was assassinated a popular president elected to a second term, 50 years after his death hardly anyone remembered who he was but here we are a couple weeks away from kennedy's 50th anniversary and i'm telling you i am inundated with requests from poland, from russia, from switzerland, from sweden, from denmark, american journalists and my dear departed mother used to say it's a case of crying with a loaf under either arm. [laughter] but i'm getting tired of it. i vowed after november 21, somebody said you write a book to get a subject so november 22 i don't want to talk about kennedy anymore. people are so eager. i can't imagine any other p

kennedy. kennedy was shot and killed just three days before. >>> and happy birthday to former nfl quarterback, dr. rick knabb, 37 years old, actress christina applegate, 42, and economist, actor, anyone? ben stein. >>> cold and snow pummel the midwest. >>> and speaking of thanksgiving today, we'll have a sneak peek at some of the macy's thanksgiving day balloons right on the plaza. i'm richard lui, along with bill cairns, have a good one. >>. >> new this morning, cashing in on california. in a few hours president obama will be back in town for a whirl wind fundraising trip. we'll have details and the last minute slash in ticket prices coming up. >> also, a man risking his life to save another. what we're learning about the good samaritan who tried to catch a woman after she jumped off the upper deck at the o.co coliseum. >> a late night dinner interrupted. what prompted this police presence at the south bay restaurant. >> a live look outside, that is all across san francisco, a cool, crisp clear morni

skakel is the nephew of ethel kennedy and the kennedys rallied to his defense. robert f. kennedy jr. is skakel's cousin. >> he's been in prison for a decade for a crime that he didn't commit. >> reporter: last month a judge agreed with skakel that he did not receive an adequate defense from his trial lawyer mickey sherman. but outside the courthouse on thursday, dismay from the family of martha moxley. her mother dorothy, was a constant presence at skakel's hearings. >> i'm disappointed, but this is life. >> reporter: and martha's brother, john moxley says that won't change any time soon. >> we're not going away. we think the court got it right the first time, and we're not going away. >> as per the conditions of his bail skakel cannot leave the state without permission and must wear a tracking device. now he'll await news of his retrial. charlie? norah? >> thank you troy. >>> more changes could be coming to your airline flight. next month the government will consider letting travelers talk on their cell phones while in the air. the use of mobile phones would be allowed once a pl

kennedy. what was mrs. kennedy's relationship with president siblings siblings and in law. how did she get along with the rest of the kennedymily? at first, she found it hard. i'm particularly glad to have a thenese question here given fact that caroline kennedy is about to go to tokyo for to ident obama's ambassador japan. >> she was an introvert. she liked to read. the kennedys are gre gary yous extroverted. took her a while to get used to that. her sister-in-laws didn't like the debutante way of reading. prefer to read a book. this is talking about the life a young wife of a senator. a it might be like being doctor's wife. all the be on call time. he's on know when call. >> i suppose it is like being married to a doctor. late hours, go away at a moment's notice. > you are alone a good deal of the time then? >> yes. committees.e in or is your job big enough taking jack?of >> that's it. >> yeah, now jack -- >> you're brighter in this shot. do it for him? clumsy. does he tell you what's going on when he comes back. >> at breakfast, he reads about seven papers and runs out the door. he is describing something to him. reading

kennedy at his side. after the plane departed dallas he called the late president's mother, rose kennedy. >> mrs. kennedysh to god there were something that i could say to you. >> schieffer: in the weeks that followed johnson reached tout to many members of the kennedy family but the kennedy who showed up most often on the new president's call sheet was jackie. this conversation took place ten days after the assassination. >> i just wanted you to know that you are loved by so many and so much. let's take a walk. let's walk around the back yard. let me tell you how much you mean to all of us. >> schieffer: johnson offered similar words of comfort to the american people in a thanksgiving address he called upon the country to honor kennedy through forward process. >> all of us have lived through seven days that none of us will ever forget. we're not given the divine wisdom to answer why this has been. but we are given the human duty of determining what is to be. >> schieffer: the kennedy family's well being still weighed heavily on the president's mind. he called jackie just before christmas. >> schieffer:

kennedy has arrived in japan to take up her new post as u.s. ambassador. she is the eldest daughter of former president john f. kennedy. kennedy and her husband landed on friday afternoon. she said she feels honored to serve as ambassador on behalf of u.s. president barack obama. >> i'm also proud to carry forward my father's legacy of public service. he had hoped to be the first united states president to visit japan. so it is a special honor for me to be able to work to strengthen the close ties between our two great countries. >> chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said he welcomes her appointment. >> translator: kennedy is close to the president, so i'm confident she'll be able to convey japan's position to him and help boost relations. i think she's the right person for the job. >> kennedy is the first female u.s. ambassador to japan. she has little diplomatic or political experience but is well known at home and abroad. >>> japan's nikkei average rallied, and that spilled over to some of the other asian markets. ron madison has been following the trading action. ron. >> yeah, that's right, big day for the japanese mar

obama are greeting of course ethel kennedy and we saw caroline kennedy's son and now bobby kennedy's ildren and grandchildren. this moment -- because, of course, bobby kennedy is also buried there alongside his brother at that grave site. and jacqueline kennedy onassas. >> extraordinary set of circumstances, and it's what they call the ultimate domino effect. the first assassination was that of john f. kennedy 50 years ago, and it was kind of the beginning of tragedy in america, the innocent america after world war ii. >> exactly. >> then became the assassination, of course, of bobby kennedy, assassination of martin luther king, then vietnam and watergate and 9/11 and all kinds of things since then. >> and, you know, robin mcneil in new york, as we watch this ceremony, as jim was just saying, all of us of a certain generation felt john f. kennedy's assassination so profoundly, and then as a young journalist, i was covering and experiencing dr. martin luther king jr.'s slaying and bobby kennedy, but it was the loss of innocence, wasn't it, of this first horrific day in dallas reck elec

kennedy was elected in 1960, he has president gets 5% fewer democratic votes than congressional democrats. congressional democrats win in a landslide. 54.7% of the vote. kennedy gets 49.8% of the vote. 5% of democratic voters would not vote for an irish catholic. >> the race between kennedy nixon is almost compared to bush v gore of current times. >> yeah, the closest race in which the president wins the popular vote and the electoral vote, the closest race this country has ever seen. >> of all of the things you have found out, what is the one thing that stands out most in your mind about the kennedy legacy? >> i think what stands out is the way in which a very, very, very rich man said to his children, i have made enough money. there is no morality or ethics in make more. we don't need it, take my money and do good in the world. >> would it happen again? >> one would hope so. >> but it has -- hasn't? >> no, it hasn't. someone always goes off of the road and detours from public service, but the kenendys have not. >> you have made enough money, no go serve. >> yeah. wouldn't that be wonderful. >> like i said a massive book, thank you for being here. >> my pleasure. >>> up next we have less than a week to go until thanksgiving and a major nor'easter could be developing. >>

kennedy is organizing herself. it takes longer. [ laughter ] but, of course, she looks better than we do. >> reporter: and when she appeared mrs. kennedy made a stunning entrance wearing the now-famous pink chanel suit, white gloves. and pill box hat. >> a few years ago, i introduced myself the h paris by saying i was the man that had accompanied mrs. kennedy to paris. i am getting somewhat that same sensation around texas. nobody wonders what lyndon and i wear. >> reporter: president kennedy almost never wore hats. in fact, the hat industry complained he was turning other men against them. that day he was given a stetson. >> i can't let you leave ft. worth without prioviding you wih some protection against the rain. [ laughter ] >> i'll put it on in the white house on monday. if you come up there you will have a chance to see it then. >> reporter: the last flight from ft. worth to neighboring dallas took just 13 minutes. and the first couple emerged into bright sunshine. the crowds were big and the president and first lady headed to the fence line to shake as many hands as possible. from there, it was into an open car and his drive into downtown dallas where history was waiting ten miles away. >> nbc's brian williams reporting for us. this video is graphic and may be disturbing to some viewers. it is of that moment, captured in the iconic

kennedy will be dead. back inside the hotel, jacqueline kennedy makes a grand entrance. >> i'm getting that same sensation. >> john kennedy was highly intelligent, witty, and charming man. >> after breakfast, the kennedys fly to dallas, a stop some of his advisors thought was unfriendly territory. they landed at love field at 11:37 a.m., for the next leg of their two-day trip. the election is two months away. >> secret service agent clint hill is assigned to protect mrs. kennedy. >> the crowds were enormous outside the city of dallas. >> traveling with the president are vice president john connelly and his wife nellie. >> he headed into the crowd to shake hands. >> they shake hands, because the whole idea of being there in texas was to demonstrate his popularity, and his appeal. >> 11:50 a.m. t motorcade leaves love field for lunch at the trade mart. as the clock ticks away on kennedy's life, people like abraham zapruda film his last minutes. >> the crowd was very exuberant, very friendly. some people are on balconies and on rooftops. toward the end of the parade, we had to -- >> i remember seeing the motorcade turn right

disposal sites will be located caroline kennedy has arrived in japan to take up her new post as us ambassador she is the daughter of former president john f kennedy kennedy an era has landed on friday afternoon. she said she feels honored to serve as ambassador on behalf of us president barack obama. i do not think. i'm also proud to carry forward my father's legacy service. yet how to be the first united states president's visit. so as the special honor for me to be able to work to strengthen the close ties between our two great country japanese chief cabinet secretary yoshida said no said he welcomes her appointment they do docomo will kennedy's close to the president. so i'm confident she'll be over kobe japan position to him and help the us relations. i need to be i can choose the right person for the job in india so she takes. kennedy is the first female us ambassador to japan. she is little diplomatic or political experience but is well known at home and abroad south korean prosecutors say former pres didn't know what sean ordered his aides to delete the minutes of the inter korean summit talks held sixty years ago bay and guided the two former aid

kennedy library. dallas wanted to get away from talking about the assassination, so has the kennedy library of jacqueline kennedy. this is a change in both cases. >> let's look at the time line where we are. larry, as i mentioned at the top of the hour, parkland hospital, the president was pronounced 2:12, not far from this time line, rifle shells found on the sixth floor and at 2:15 officer tip pet whose wife just shot with tom brokaw was shot and killed in oak cliff, a section of dallas there. one of things i think was incredible, that stretch of space where kennedy was shot. there weren't cameras and weren't reporters there. they were all five minutes away at the dallas mark where the big event was supposed to happen. >> it's quite a change from what it would be today when everybody would have a camera or personal cell phone taking all kinds of pictures and video. we're eternally greatful to bruner and nicks for their films. we would be in trouble if we didn't have that evidence. it's a solemn day in dallas. most people are being very respectful. i thought it was a wonderful ceremony that was very appropriate

kennedy, kennedy said sometimes it's not the labels that matter, and i go back and forth about whether he was right about that. i think the labels in some ways are useful lenses for helping us remember what actually happened. and that's, you know, that's really what i hope people >> my name is charles e. lee. he is running late, so we will go ahead and get started because this is being televised. the reporter on the scene when kennedy was killed. 1963. to my far left he was at docile and kennedy arrived he lives of the key players working on the warren commission that investigated the death of kennedy. was going to start with mr. willens. he is going to read five to eight minutes. then we will have chiles will read from his book for five to eight minutes the man then we will have this session and open it up to questions. thank you very much. >> proceed. >> like tech expressed by appreciation for this opportunity to appear before an ever-growing crowd and tell you a little bit about my experience of what the warren commission's staff five decades ago the first section would like to refer my book is the title, the genesis of that single bullet theory. one of the most of the developments in the commission's work started to take shapely in february. although working conscientiously on their analytical memorandum in order to beat the deadline, the commission staff, like most lawyers to my greatly preferred to confer in