Chapter 37: What Next?
1 with no fanfare at all: Washington Post, February 14, 1968.
2 Shortly after New Year’s Day: Washington Post, February 4, 1968.
3 In his State of the Union address: Sundquist, On Fighting Poverty, 179.
4 “mass resignation of top officials”: United Press International, February 1, 1968.
5 “Tell Shriver to trace this leak”: President Johnson to Joseph Califano, February 4, 1968, LBJ Library.
6 “The real impact of this budget”: Washington Post, February 4, 1968.
7 As the Democratic Cook County Central Committee prepared for its first meeting: Chicago Sun-Times, December 29, 1967, January 14, 1968.
8 Then, unexpectedly, it did: Chicago News, January 17, 1998.
9 as far away as Australia: Washington Post, January 19, 1968.
10 Shriver met with Daley: Washington Post, January 26, 1968.
11 Shriver began talking to old friends: See, for instance, Tom King, “Illinois Needs Shriver” letter, n.d; Newt Minow to Sargent Shriver, February 12, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
12 he and some close associates commissioned a secret poll: Leo Shapiro, “Electing a U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois,” Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
13 “anything Shriver did in the Senate”: Washington Star, February 10, 1968.
14 Shriver declined to show up: Chicago Sun-Times, February 26, 1968.
15 “Daley’s ‘Dream Ticket’ Fading”: Washington Post, February 27, 1968.
16 “Sarge, I’d like to take a walk with you”: Sargent Shriver, interview August 24, 1997.
17 by the summer of 1966: Schlesinger, Robert Kennedy and His Times, 739.
18 Kennedy’s “rise in political appeal”: The Gallup Poll 1935–1971.
19 prominent Democrats had warned him: Newsweek, March 16, 1967.
20 as many as twenty percentage points: The Gallup Poll 1935–1971.
21 “Bill Moyers called to tell me”: Joseph Califano to President Johnson, December 8, 1967, LBJ Library.
22 Shriver didn’t hesitate: Chicago Daily News, March 23, 1968, March 28, 1968.
23 “LBJ was tickled”: Califano, The Triumph and Tragedy, 266.
24 Thus he responded noncommittally: Sargent Shriver, interviews August 24, 1997; March 12, 1999.
25 “a guy comes barging through”: Donald Dell, interview April 15, 2003.
26 “Sarge, I’ve been asked by Bobby’s group”: Ibid.
27 “I know there were feelings”: Life, August 18, 1972.
28 But Sarge believed: Sargent Shriver, interview August 24, 1997.
29 “Your Daddy didn’t come back from France”: Anthony Shriver, interview June 10, 2003.
30 “Our ambassador supports the positions”: New York Times, April 19, 2003.
31 “That’s an iffy question”: Ibid.
32 “a daring affront to the unity of the administration”: Leamer, The Kennedy Women, 627.
33 “what Mr. Shriver is doing is important too”: Washington Post, April 19, 1968.
34 Au Revoir, Sarge: Washington Post, April 24, 1968.
35 “the greatest challenge of his career”: Sunday Star, April 29, 1968.
Part 5: France (1968–1970)
Chapter 38: Springtime in Paris
1 sworn in as US ambassador: State Department press release, May 7, 1968, LBJ Library.
2 De Gaulle considered this symbolic act patronizing: Vinen, France, 82.
3 “what to do about the French”: Cook, Charles de Gaulle, 347.
4 “an open and undisguised breach”: Ibid., 360.
5 in 1966, after years of threats: Ibid., 382.
6 The French president also formally recognized: Vinen, France, 181; Cook, Charles de Gaulle, 347.
7 “You cannot win it”: Heath, The Kennedy–Johnson Years, 265–66.
8 “scarcely on speaking terms any longer”: Cook, Charles de Gaulle, 370.
9 “the most difficult … that any American envoy”: Ibid., 393.
10 “Given the attitude of de Gaulle”: Ibid., 393–94.
11 “You’re not going to have any fun”: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
12 planned to leave for France on May 11: Robert Barrett datebook, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
13 The chaos that was erupting: Vinen, France, 186–87.
14 “the kind of welcome I had come to expect in Watts”: Kramer and Shriver, “We Called It a War.”
15 “being an ambassador could wait”: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
16 Reluctantly accompanied by Nick King: Kramer and Shriver, “We Called It a War.”
17 “To the French people”: Ibid.
18 “The tempest is really over”: Cook, Charles de Gaulle, 403.
19 “So many spectacular events”: Sargent Shriver to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, May 24, 1968, LBJ Library.
20 “I knew Sarge Shriver was a dynamic fellow”: Walt Rostow to President Johnson, May 24, 1968, LBJ Library.
21 Shriver was struck once again: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
22 On this inauspicious morning: Cook, Charles de Gaulle, 404; Robert Barrett datebook, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
23 “In many countries”: Sargent Shriver remarks upon presentation of credentials, May 25, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
24 “France is threatened by a dictatorship”: Cook, Charles de Gaulle, 406.
25 Shriver, watching from the front of the American Embassy: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
26 “We sat in the house saying rosary after rosary”: Timothy Shriver, interview March 5, 2002.
27 When Sarge attempted to help Bobby’s aides: Herb Kramer, cited in Leamer, The Kennedy Women, 634.
28 the “Kennedy Movement”: See, for instance, White, The Making of the President, 1968.
29 “very interested” in allying himself with Shriver: New York Daily News, June 22, 1968.
30 Meanwhile, Eunice was moving forward: Shorter, The Kennedy Family 129–30.
31 “I wish to announce a national Special Olympics”: Ibid., 134.
32 “I was the original number one skeptic”: Sargent Shriver, interviews August 10, 1997, August 16, 1997.
Chapter 39: “Sarjean Shreevair”
1 Eunice had thrown herself into working with the mentally retarded in Paris: See, for instance, Vogue, June 1969.
2 The ambassadorial staff had never seen anything like this: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997; Frances Cook, interview September 25, 2001.
3 One day not long after his family’s arrival: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
4 Shriver, for his part, was enthralled by de Gaulle: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
5 “of all the ambassadors I’ve seen”: Bob Blake, interview February 19, 1998.
6 “won the hearts and minds of the French people”: Bob Halliday, interview March 5, 2002.
7 “a rare and welcome panache”: Time, November 1, 1968.
8 “Vive l’Amérique”: Chicago Daily News, September 25, 1968.
9 “everybody had noticed the bouncy cheer”: New York Post, November 26, 1968.
10 “It is going to be much more fun”: Chicago Daily News, August 28, 1968.
11 The French people came to love him: Frances Cook, interview September 25, 2001; Bob Holliday, interview March 5, 2002.
12 LBJ’s foreign policy aides had strongly advised: Ernest Goldstein to President Johnson, February 24, 1968, LBJ Library.
13 “It’s a different ballgame now”: Washington Star, August 4, 1968.
14 Shriver cut a dashing, if somewhat eccentric, figure: Boston Globe, May 18, 1968; New York Times, July 3, 1968; Time, November 1, 1968.
Chapter 40: The 1968 Election
1 “eager to pursue him”: New York Post, June 27, 1968.
2 “It has never really fascinated me”: Ladies Home Journal, April 1970.
3 “A nu
mber of us”: Wofford, Of Kennedys and Kings, 429.
4 “I had a long and private meeting”: Bill Moyers to Sargent Shriver, June 27, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
5 Josephson met secretly with Max Kampelman: William Josephson to Sargent Shriver, July 16, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
6 “Ted Kennedy was the obvious choice”: Sulzberger, An Age of Mediocrity, 442.
7 “generally favorable comment”: Don Petrie to Sargent Shriver, July 17, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
8 “Sen. Edward Kennedy’s withdrawal”: Washington Star, August 2, 1965.
9 his network of influential supporters quietly grew: William Josephson to Sargent Shriver, August 2, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
10 Mike Mansfield secretly visited Shriver: Sargent Shriver to William Josephson, August 2, 1968, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
11 So, too, several days later: William Josephson to Sargent Shriver, August 15, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library. 517 “Let’s talk turkey about Shriver”: William Josephson memorandum for the record, August 9, 1968, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
12 Josephson was moved to write to Kampelman: William Josephson to Max Kampelman, August 21, 1968, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
13 “his appeal to youth”: Washington Post, August 14, 1968.
14 “the crucial point”: William Josephson to Sargent Shriver, August 17, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
15 Bill Moyers delivered to Humphrey a memo: Bill Moyers to Hubert Humphrey, “Concerning the Vice Presidency,” August 20, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
16 “Shriver Stands out as VP Timber”: Washington Post, August 21, 1968.
17 as Shriver reported it the next day in a letter: Sargent Shriver handwritten note to anonymous source, August 20, 1968, deposited by the author in the Shriver Papers, JFK Library, under certain restrictions, to be unsealed upon the source’s death.
18 “Steve [Smith] was the money guy”: Donald Dell, interview April 15, 2003.
19 “Hubert Humphrey’s search for a Vice President”: Washington Post, June 27, 1968.
20 “Hubert was very fond of Sarge”: Kampelman, Entering New Worlds, 167–68.
21 “an unfriendly act”: Ibid.
22 “began serving as her husband’s ambassador”: Washington Post, August 29, 1968.
23 “Stick it to Sarge”: Life, August 18, 1972.
24 served for a while as surrogate parents: Anthony Shriver, interview June 10, 2003; Mark Shriver, interview July 9, 2003.
25 jumping his proper place in line: Marianne Means column, King Features Syndicate, August 25, 1968. 526 Fred Harris was telling Moyers: William Josephson to Sargent Shriver, August 23, 1968.
26 “one of the most unusual conventions in American political history”: White, The Making of the President, 1968, 276–77.
27 “The Democrats are finished”: Ibid., 298.
28 “I was a victim of that convention”: Ibid., 303.
29 “The test is what Humphrey does now”: Wofford, Of Kennedys and Kings, 431.
30 Chicago papers reported: See, for instance, Chicago Daily News, August 28, 1968.
31 “From 4,000 miles away”: Wofford, Of Kennedys and Kings, 432.
32 “no monopoly on the Kennedy legacy”: Ibid., 431.
33 “led me to believe better not”: Max Kampelman handwritten memo, September 4, 1968, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
34 Reflecting on the events: Edward M. Kennedy, interview February 16, 2004.
35 “His name was effectively vetoed”: New York Times Magazine, October 15, 1972.
36 “For the second time”: Wofford, Of Kennedys and Kings, 432–33.
37 “he was knifed”: Max Kampelman to William Josephson, October 7, 1970, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
38 “We are ready to attack another hill”: Edgar May to Sargent Shriver, September 3, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
39 “Even the slightest movement toward peace”: Bundy, A Tangled Web, 28.
40 “We will end the war on an honorable basis”: Ambrose, Nixon, 190.
41 “I simply can’t stand Nixon”: Sulzberger, An Age of Mediocrity, 478.
42 the negotiators hoped an agreement could be reached before the election: Sargent Shriver to Hubert Humphrey, October 30, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
43 By October 29: See, for instance, Bundy, A Tangled Web, 28–35; Ambrose, Nixon, 211; White, The Making of the President, 1968, 378–79.
44 a prominent Nixon supporter named Anna Chennault: Goodman, The Lost Peace, 71.
45 “The relationship thus established”: Bundy, A Tangled Web, 38.
46 “Anna, I’m speaking on behalf of Mr. Nixon”: Chennault, The Education of Anna, 190–91.
47 “surely conveyed Nixon’s fervent desire”: Bundy, A Tangled Web, 41.
48 “regularly in touch with the Nixon entourage”: Diem, In the Jaws of History, 239–45.
49 “our friend in New Mexico does”: Powers, Man Who Kept the Secrets, 199.
50 The evidence is clear: Bundy, A Tangled Web, 45–48.
51 A switch in those three states alone: 1968 vote totals, Associated Press statistics.
Chapter 41: Nixon in Paris
1 He and Ted Kennedy quickly mended: Ted Kennedy to Sargent Shriver, November 11, 1998, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
2 Shriver flew into New York: William Josephson memo for the record, December 16, 1998, Josephson Papers, JFK Library; Ambrose, Nixon, 231–34.
3 “Gawd, Sarge”: William Josephson memo for the record, December 16, 1998, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
4 the meeting was a strange one: Sargent Shriver, interview August 24, 1997.
5 Josephson recorded shortly afterward: William Josephson memo for the record, December 16, 1998, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
6 “That’s a good point”: Sargent Shriver, interview December 26, 1997.
7 “one of the toughest, most cold-eyed”: Kissinger, The White House Years, 26.
8 To Shriver’s surprise: Sargent Shriver, interview December 26, 1997; Bill Moyers to William Rogers, December 16, 1998, Shriver Papers, JFK Library; William Josephson memo for the record, December 16, 1998, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
9 “we have only one government”: William Josephson memo for the record, December 16, 1998, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
10 The brothers-in-law greeted each other warmly: Ibid.
11 He also had them prepare a draft: Richard Nixon draft remarks, n.d., Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
12 Shriver later observed: William Josephson memo for the record, January 15, 1969, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
13 “encouraged me to take the post”: Sargent Shriver to President Johnson and Secretary of State Dean Rusk, December 17, 1968, Rostow Papers, LBJ Library; William Josephson memo for the record, January 15, 1969, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
14 Less than twenty-four hours: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
15 “Nixon and Rogers have changed their minds”: Sargent Shriver to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and President Johnson, Rostow Papers, LBJ Library.
16 “at least fifty percent ex post facto”: William Josephson memo for the record, January 15, 1969, Josephson Papers, JFK Library.
17 a “professional diplomat” rather than a “political figure”: White House press release, December 20, 1968, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.
18 “overly ambitious”: Washington Post, December 21, 1968.
19 he blocked the appointment: Washington Star, December 20, 1968. In his memoir, Richard Nixon said that he, not Rogers, made the decision to rescind Shriver’s appointment. Nixon writes that Shriver “sent me a message stating the conditions for his acceptance. Among other things he required a pledge that federal poverty programs not be cut. It was intolerable to have a prospective ambassadorial appointee making demands relating to domestic policy, so I told Bill Rogers that I had decided against him and to let him know why.” Shriver did, of course, want OEO fund
ing to be maintained, and he may at some point have encouraged Nixon not to cut it. But the idea that he premised his acceptance of the UN position on OEO funding is ridiculous. The list of conditions he sent both to Nixon and to Rogers mentioned nothing about the poverty program, nor did he mention the poverty program in his formal conversations about the job with either man.
20 Shriver had raised with LBJ’s State Department: “President’s European Trip,” February 3, 1969, Nixon Papers, National Archives.
21 Nixon wanted to be assured that everything would run smoothly: Edgar May, interview February 21, 2002; Daniel Morrissey, interviews February 19, 1998; March 3, 2003.
22 “psychedelic” dining room: Washington Post, May 20, 1969.
23 Shriver got word from the White House: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
24 US protocol officers worked feverishly: Washington Post, May 29, 1969.
25 Nixon and his entourage arrived in Paris: President of the United States schedule, February 23–March 3, 1969, Nixon Papers, National Archives; Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997; H. R. Haldeman, February 28, 1969, The Haldeman Diaries.
26 “The Nixon people brought their own food”: Edgar May, interview February 21, 2002.
27 “There were some raised eyebrows”: John Ehrlichman to H. R. Haldeman, Henry Kissinger, et al., March 13, 1969, Nixon Papers, National Archives.
28 Shriver established the tone of the evening: Sargent Shriver, interview August 16, 1997.
29 “I just remember my mother being so incensed”: Timothy Shriver, interview March 5, 2002.
30 Nixon looked peeved: Frances Cook, interview September 25, 2001.
31 Nixon “listened politely to the first”: Bundy, A Tangled Web, 59.
32 No specific agreements were reached: New York Times, March 2, 1969.
33 “a new era of deeper understanding”: Sargent Shriver cable to William Rogers, March 4, 1969, Nixon Papers, National Archives.
34 “an almost audible sigh of relief”: Sargent Shriver to William Rogers, March 6, 1969, Nixon Papers, National Archives.
35 reported that de Gaulle had been very pleased: Sargent Shriver to William Rogers, March 7, 1969, and March 17, 1969, Nixon Papers, National Archives.
Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver Page 92