Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver

by Scott Stossel

  16 “In many campaigns”: Ibid.

  17 “When we got into the lunch”: Ibid.

  18 Pavlov had been a member of the Communist Party: Andrei Pavlov, interview March 31, 2000.

  19 Although this made Shriver suspect: Sargent Shriver, interview March 31, 2000.

  20 Shriver persuaded Pavlov: Sargent Shriver, interview September 1, 1997.

  21 “everywhere we went”: Larry Tribe, interview February 26, 2002.

  22 “stumbled upon a room full of KGB agents”: Ibid.

  23 Pavlov had no idea of what to expect: Andrei Pavlov, interview March 31, 2000. This also made the translators very nervous, since they would have to perform simultaneous translation. As Pavlov recalled, Shriver’s reference during the lecture to Kissinger’s famous remark “power is an aphrodesiac” gave the translators fits, forcing one of them into a frantic digression on the Greek goddess of love.

  24 “Many Americans have believed”: Sargent Shriver lecture paper given before the Institute of USA and Canadian Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, March 22, 1975, Shriver Papers, Special Olympics International.

  25 “I remember him coming back”: Mark Shriver, interview September 26, 2001.

  26 “Once you spent time there”: Bobby Shriver, interview May 21, 2003.

  27 “rapt and wide-eyed”: Andrei Pavlov, interview March 31, 2000.

  28 Shriver held a ninety-minute press conference: New York Times, April 11, 1975.

  29 his cousin rocking back and forth in his seat: Bobby Shriver, interview May 21, 2003.

  30 “I want to hear it from Eunice”: New York Times, April 14, 1975.

  31 “I can’t help it if he runs”: Washington Post, March 27, 1975.

  32 “just as reserved as her brother”: New York Times, April 14, 1975.

  33 Shriver told him he was considering entering the race himself: Witcover, Marathon, 150.

  34 The “Family of Long Memories”: Ibid., 150–51.

  35 Some twenty years later: Sargent Shriver, interview August 31, 1997; Washington Post, July 16, 1975.

  36 On July 15 he announced: New York Times, July 15, 1975.

  37 “a final scene in a Marx brothers movie”: Witcover, Marathon, 151.

  38 “the only recognizable ‘celebrity’ in the pack”: Ibid.

  39 “There was no effort to get Kennedy people”: Washington Post, July 16, 1975.

  40 “There is trouble in the Kennedy camp”: New York Times, July 22, 1975.

  41 Bobby Shriver thinks: Bobby Shriver, interview May 30, 2003.

  42 Will noticed some of the books strewn around: David Birenbaum, interview March 4, 2002.

  43 “Kennedy faithful hanging from the rafters”: Sargent Shriver would later say that “Ethel’s presence showed I was not a heretic [within the family] or something,” Koplinski, Hats in the Ring, 536; Witcover, Marathon, 152.

  44 “I could not stand aside”: Sargent Shriver announcement statement, September 20, 1975, Shriver Papers, JFK Library; Witcover, Marathon, 152.

  45 “Shriver felt insecure”: McCarthy, One Journalist’s Place in the World, 115.

  46 The next morning Shriver appeared on Meet the Press: Ibid.

  47 “He never got out from under that ‘mantle’ business”: David Birenbaum, interview March 4, 2002.

  48 “pep, hope, and a kind of creative chaos”: Newsweek, January 26, 1976.

  49 I can definitely beat that guy: Timothy Shriver, interview March 5, 2002.

  50 “He’s a lightweight and I think he’s kidding himself”: Washington Star, n.d.

  51 “What impressed me about that”: David Birenbaum, interview March 4, 2002.

  52 “an object lesson in the power”: Bourne, Jimmy Carter, 278.

  53 “Are there any circumstances”: Bourne, Jimmy Carter, 279–80.

  54 The misunderstanding: Ibid; Witcover, Marathon, 206–7.

  55 Shriver was mistakenly listed: Staff meeting minutes, January 19, 1976, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.

  56 “conveyed an inaccurate account of the public positions of Carter and Shriver”: Nation, February 7, 1976.

  57 When Don O’Brien: Witcover, Marathon, 207.

  58 “the difference between first and second place”: Ibid.

  59 “I think I’ve been sandbagged by Carter”: Washington Star, January 21, 1976.

  60 Shriver told friends: Bourne, Jimmy Carter, 281.

  61 “I am and always have been strongly opposed to abortion”: Sargent Shriver statement on abortion and telephone conversation—suggestions from people re new draft on abortion, January 27, 1976, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.

  62 Many of the younger generation of Kennedy cousins: Staff assignment, December 1, 1975, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.

  63 “a great bon-voyage party at the pier”: Witcover, Marathon, 206.

  64 Rosalynn’s ploy spelled the difference: Bourne, Jimmy Carter, 283.

  65 “He was laboring to be taken as his own man”: Witcover, Marathon, 234.

  66 “a stunningly young 60”: Newsweek, January 26, 1976.

  67 As recently as early February: Scripps-Howard News Service, “Shriver Leads in Massachusetts Presidential Polls” February 2, 1976; Boston Globe, February 4, 1976.

  68 a “step-Kennedy”: Koplinski, Hats in the Ring, 523.

  69 “You didn’t even mention my last name”: Witcover, Marathon, 250ff.

  70 “I think it’s a fabulous family”: Boston Globe, February 4, 1976.

  71 On primary day in Massachusetts: Witcover, Marathon, 249.

  72 “counseling him to get out after Massachusetts”: David Birenbaum, interview March 4, 2002.

  73 “my candidacy was in bad shape”: Koplinski, Hats in the Ring, 538.

  74 ultimately the mayor withheld his endorsement: Cohen and Taylor, American Pharaoh, 551.

  75 “some elements of the Daley machine”: Koplinski, Hats in the Ring, 539.

  76 “This is not a happy day for me”: Sargent Shriver withdrawal statement, March 22, 1976, Shriver Papers, JFK Library.

  77 “I must be one ugly son-of-a-bitch!”: William Alford, interview October 30, 2001.

  78 “Shriver’s reputation”: Newsweek, January 26, 1976.

  79 “Shriver was characteristically buoyant”: Washington Monthly, June 1976.

  80 “The real irony”: Ibid.

  Part 7: Private Life, Public Service (1976–2003)

  Chapter 47: Nuclear Politics

  1 “a surer basis for peace”: Washington Post, October 26, 1979; Sargent Shriver, interview September 7, 1998.

  2 On September 18, Shriver teamed up: United States Committee for East-West Common Existence press release, September 18, 1976.

  3 “Dear President-Elect”: Sargent Shriver et al. to President-elect Carter, December 6, 1976, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  4 a small but influential band of foreign policy experts: Sargent Shriver to George Kennan, September 25, 1981, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  5 “Reagan had made a statement that day”: Bryan Hehir, interview March 27, 2003.

  6 Shriver immediately sent the statement: Sargent Shriver to Robert McNamara, October 21, 1981, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  7 “decisive leadership”: Sargent Shriver to Robert McNamara, November 4, 1981, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC; Washington Post, November 4, 1981.

  8 Haig announced a “contingency plan”: New York Times, November 4, 1981.

  9 “Human beings”: Sargent Shriver to Robert McNamara, November 4, 1981, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  10 Shriver was getting impatient: Sargent Shriver to Robert McNamara (with handwritten response from McNamara), December 14, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  11 At one dinner Averell Harriman spoke: Anthony Lake, interview May 13, 2003.

  12 “I do remember
at least the semblance of a snicker”: Sargent Shriver to McGeorge Bundy, February 26, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  13 “a blockbuster”: New York Times, April 9, 1982.

  14 “Sarge, as an unacknowledged author of this article”: Robert McNamara, handwritten note to Sargent Shriver, April 1, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  15 “I must say that you touched off a notable series of events”: George Kennan to Sargent Shriver, June 30, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  16 “Christians cannot long live by the sign of the mushroom cloud”: Pastoral letter on peace and war, confidential first draft, June 11, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  17 a ten-page assessment of the draft: Sargent Shriver to Bryan Hehir, July 1, 1982, Special Olympic Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  18 A pledge not to use nuclear arms first: New York Times, October 4, 1982.

  19 “We find the moral responsibility”: New York Times, October 26, 1982.

  20 reacted as angrily as they dared: Ibid.

  21 spent the early part of November recruiting prominent signatories: Sargent Shriver to Robert McNamara, Paul Warnke, et al., November 15, 1982; Sargent Shriver to Gerard Smith, November 16, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  22 Acknowledging that some critics believe: Sargent Shriver et al. to Ben Bradlee and A. M. Rosenthal, November 17, 1982.

  23 voted overwhelmingly in favor of endorsing the draft: New York Times, November 19, 1982.

  24 “Thank you for being the stimulus”: William Colby to Sargent Shriver, September 24, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  25 “the most profound and searching inquiry yet”: New York Times, April 1, 1983.

  26 the bishops voted overwhelmingly: Chicago Sun-Times, May 3, 1983; New York Times, May 4, 1983.

  27 Shriver immediately telegrammed the archbishop: Sargent Shriver telegram to Archbishop Hannan, May 3, 1982, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  28 “the boldest and most decisive step on social issues”: New York Times, May 4, 1983.

  29 “the era’s most influential challenge”: McGreevy, Catholicism and American Freedom, 285.

  30 “the invisible hand behind the Gang of Four”: McGeorge Bundy to Sargent Shriver, May 25, 1983, Special Olympics Files, Special Olympics Office, Washington, DC.

  Chapter 48: Special Olympics, a Family Affair

  1 Eunice was busy planning: Bueno, Special Olympics, 46–47.

  2 By 1980 the program: Ibid., 53.

  3 “Mrs. Shriver almost single-handedly changed the way: Ibid., 83.

  4 “my mother does put the fear of God in most people”: Leamer, The Kennedy Women, 693.

  5 “His career as an active political leader ended after Carter’s election”: Timothy Shriver, interview March 5, 2002.

  6 As the cold war ended: Andrei Pavlov, interview March 31, 2000; Bueno, Special Olympics, 103.

  7 “It can’t have been easy”: Timothy Shriver, interview March 5, 2002.

  8 In just over a decade, Best Buddies: Anthony Shriver, interview June 10, 2003; www.bestbuddies.org.

  9 “Arnold loved America”: Leigh, Arnold, 92.

  10 “Although the film was billed”: Ibid., 139.

  11 “a charmer, a champion, an endearingly arrogant winner”: Ibid., 144.

  12 “I could see that Arnold was”: Maria Shriver, interview July 9, 2003.

  13 “I think what made her fall in love with me”: Arnold Schwarzenegger, interview July 29, 2003.

  14 “When one has money”: Leigh, Arnold, 178.

  15 her father was the most accepting of Arnold: Maria Shriver, interview July 9, 2003.

  16 “Sargent was not really aware”: Arnold Schwarzenegger, interview July 29, 2003.

  17 he wrote his daughter a long letter: Maria Shriver, interview July 9, 2003.

  18 “the Kennedys’ worst setback since Chappaquiddick”: Leigh, Arnold, 169–70.

  19 quickly came to respect his girlfriend’s parents: Arnold Schwarzenegger, interview July 29, 2003.

  20 “the theology and ethics of Conan the Barbarian”: Daniel Morrissey, interview March 3, 2003.

  21 Of all the disparate red-carpet celebrities: USA Today, April 28, 1986.

  22 “It was the most beautiful wedding ceremony”: Ibid.

  23 “I love her and will always take care of her”: Leigh, Arnold, 245.

  24 “You’re making me very happy”: Sargent Shriver to Arnold Schwarzenegger, July 11, 2003.

  25 “the biggest influence in Arnold’s life”: Maria Shriver, interview July 9, 2003.

  26 “Eunice and Sargent are like my second parents”: Arnold Schwarzenegger, interview July 29, 2003.

  27 “I would sit there for hours and just pump him for information”: Ibid.

  28 He explicitly credits Shriver: Arnold Schwarzenegger, interview July 29, 2003.

  29 “You can’t be married to Maria Shriver”: Tribune Media Services, August 13, 2003.

  30 “Whatever happened to Sargent Shriver?”: “The Baby Shower,” Seinfeld, May 16, 1991.

  31 “if Sarge had married Susie Glotz”: Mark Shields, interview April 16, 2002.

  32 “I used to be Jack Kennedy’s brother-in-law”: New Republic, January 17, 1976.

  Chapter 49: Faith and Hope

  1 “Shriver was a passionate reader”: McCarthy, One Journalist’s Place in the World, 118.

  2 “You cannot separate Daddy from his faith”: Maria Shriver, interview July 9, 2003.

  3 “a Roman Catholic candidate of an unfamiliar sort”: New York Times, September 16, 1972.

  4 “Sarge has chosen the active life”: Mav McCarthy, interview July 30, 2003.

  5 “zealously orthodox”: Time, June 11, 1984. Opus Dei, like the Masons, has spawned many conspiracy theories, both in real life and in fiction. Recently, Dan Brown’s best-selling thriller novel The Da Vinci Code features the sinister side of Opus Dei.

  6 he can’t understand how the Shrivers: Hans Kung, interview May 20, 2003.

  7 “as if jet lag did not exist”: Leamer, The Kennedy Women, 755.

  8 forcibly prevent Sarge from overexerting himself: Sargent Shriver, interview February 18, 1998.

  9 the serious health issues her brother Jack suffered: See, for instance, Dallek, An Unfinished Life.

  10 “By all the laws of time and nature”: Leamer, The Kennedy Women, 762.

  11 “A Champion of Life”: Washington Post, June 14, 2003.

  12 “I do not know how my parents have so much endless energy”: Maria Shriver, interview July 9, 2003.

  13 “the only reason Sargent Shriver accepted this award tonight”: National Center on Poverty Law annual dinner, May 1, 2003.

  14 “I do believe he will be canonized one day as a saint”: Colman McCarthy, interview July 30, 2003.

  15 In the summer of 2000, Shriver traveled to Beijing: William Alford, interview October 30, 2001.

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