Kennedy and Reagan
Page 48
Freedom Riders, 222, 323–24
Harvard and Yale, 3, 40, 77, 83, 84, 86, 98, 99
health issues, 55, 62, 64, 65, 72–74, 97, 124, 148–49, 157
his association with Hollywood through his father, 186
his book Profiles in Courage, 102–3, 137, 157–59, 161
his book Why England Slept, 99–101, 102, 103, 155, 157–58, 161, 187, 223
his concern over high unemployment numbers and inflation, 277–78
his inaugural address, 221
his view of the senior military personnel, 105, 112–13, 115–17
impact of his assassination, 14–15, 20
the inaugural gala, 197
and Inga Arvad, 111, 262
journalism and the Hearst papers, 124–25, 160–61
as a liberal, 148, 336
on liberalism and conservatism, 335–36
March on Washington, 313, 316, 326–27
marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier, 134, 144–45
New Frontier programs, 163, 173, 202, 216, 217
and Nikita Khrushchev, 208, 210, 225, 240, 241–48
the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 23, 209, 249
Office of Naval Intelligence, 111, 262
Operation Mongoose, 267–68
Peace Corps, 202, 214–17, 222
possibility of military coup in the US in the early 1960s, 116
preparing for a 1964 re-election, 16
presidential campaign in 1960, 169, 177–79, 182
problems in his marriage, 143–46
Project Apollo space program and sending a man on the moon, 202, 204–11
and the right of blacks to vote, 314, 316, 325, 326
as a Senator, 144, 148, 149–50, 172, 205
understanding the daily struggles faced by African Americans, 321
United Steelworkers union and big steel companies, 229–32, 280
and Vietnam, 259, 274
womanizing and philandering, 39, 84–85, 135, 137–39, 143–44, 194, 339
Kennedy, Robert F.
assassination, 14–15, 24, 169, 274–75
and the CIA, 259, 275
civil rights, 315, 321, 322, 325
Cuban Missile Crisis, 245, 247
and Fidel Castro, 267
his book Thirteen Days, 245
as JFK’s campaign manager, 151
and JFK’s death, 274–75
Kennedy, Rose, 51–55, 56, 65, 299
Kennedy, Rosemary, 54, 66
Kennedy and Reagan - comparisons
athletics, 19, 48, 57–58, 71, 76–77, 84, 85, 88–89
avid readers, 64–65, 66–68, 165
believers in American exceptionalism, 202–17
benefit of governing as war presidents in a time of peace, 334
both shot, 13, 14–15, 17, 30
on the brink of nuclear war, 237–258
civil rights legislation, 15–16, 17, 24, 313–33, 337–38
Cold War, 209, 237, 238, 256, 257–58, 260, 269, 333–35, 338
college days, 78–89
and Communism, 119–20, 124–25, 127–33, 155–56, 223–24, 237–39, 249–50, 254, 260, 274, 333
covert operations, 259–75
crises, charismatic leaderships, collective excitement, and sense of anticipation, 218–31
defense budgets, 239–40
domineering and favored older brothers, 47, 55–56, 57–58
family dynamics, 47
the Great Depression, 81–83, 91
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 239, 277
had rakish fathers and pious mothers, 47
Hollywood, movie people, and entertainers, 184–201
Irish heritage, 32–42
masters of communication and popular public speakers, 103, 147–48, 159–60, 161–64
and the media, 340–41
mutual hatred of bureaucracy, 262
nomadic childhood and the impact on their personalities, 47–48, 61–63
nuclear war, 30
paths to the presidency, 167–83
personalities and traits, 48, 74–75
personas created by Kennedy and Reagan, 188–90
polls on job approval ratings and presidential rankings, 7–8, 17, 30
popularity increasing with the passage of time, 7–9
public images were unabashedly macho, 340
religion and the culture wars, 295–312
same political convictions, 127
tax cuts and deficits, 29, 30, 276–94, 333
their appeal to women, 134–47
unusually candid, 33
West Germany, East Germany and Berlin, 224, 225, 240–43
wit and humor, 28, 32–33, 39, 40, 41–46
and World War II, 104–18
as writers, 68, 99–100, 102, 147, 160–61, 164–66
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 234
Kerry, John Forbes, 4, 311
Kersten, Charles, 129
Keynes, John Maynard, 276–77
Keyserling, Leon, 284
KGB, 15, 250, 251
Khomeini, Ayatollah, 263
King, Coretta Scott, 322
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
assassination, 14–15, 24
and the fight for civil rights, 316, 322, 323, 324–25, 327
his birthday becomes a national holiday, 331
Kirkpatrick, Jeanne, 254
Kissinger, Henry, 268, 338
Knights of Columbus, 297
Korean War, 149
Krock, Arthur, 49, 100, 161, 299, 313
Ku Klux Klan, 296
Lansdale, Edward Geary, 261, 262, 274
Laski, Marxist Harold, 97
Lawford, Patricia Kennedy, 186
Lawford, Peter, 186, 194
Leach, Archibald, 186
League of Nations, 102
Lebanon, 224
LeMay, Curtis, 116, 195, 246
Lenczowski, John, 254
Lerner, Alan, 22
Lewis, Drew, 231–32
Liberal Tradition in Americam, The (Hartz), 335
Lichtman, Allan J., 296
Lilly, Doris, 141
Lincoln, President Abraham, 14, 15, 20, 24, 32, 42
Lindsey, Lawrence, 285
Lippmann, Walter, 15–16
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 144, 178
Lodge, Henry Cabot, Jr., 149, 150, 152
Logsdon, John M., 206
Luce, Henry, 240
Luckett, Edie, 142
Lukacs, John, 110
MacArthur, Douglas, 105, 112–13, 273
MacArthur, Peter, 92–93
Macleish, Archibald, 20, 25
Macmillan, Prime Minister Harold, 22, 138
Madrick, Jeff, 285, 293–94
Mailer, Norman, 30, 137, 196
Making of the President, 1960 (White), 22
Manchester, William, 22
Mansfield, Harvey, 8
Mansfield, Jayne, 138
Marshall, George C., 117
Marshall Plan, 127, 213, 215
Martin, Dean, 197
Martin, James, 222
Masuda, Kazuo, 319
Matthews, Chris, 228
Matusow, Allen J., 279
McCain, John, 6
McCarran Act, 156
McCarthy, Joseph, 119, 129, 150, 151, 155–57
McCarthy, Tim, 26, 30
McCone, John, 275
McDonald, Larry P., 252
McDougall, Walter, 210
McFarlane, Robert, 271
McGovern, George, 2, 304
McGrory, Mary, 21, 199
McKinle
y, President William, 14
McMahon, Patrick, 113, 114
McNamara, Robert, 116, 268
Meader, Vaughn, 191
Meese, Edwin, 28, 308
Meredith, James, 222, 324
Meyer, Mary Pinchot, 138
Mikoyan, Anastas, 244
Miller, Dorie, 319–20
Mitterrand, President François, 253
Mondale, Walter, 2, 44
Monroe, Marilyn, 138, 139
Montt, Jose Efrain, 269
Moore, Edward, 137
Moral Majority, 305–6
Moretti, Bob, 171–72
Morris, Charles R., 35
Morris, Edmund, 25, 32, 43, 44, 71, 141, 164, 306
Mosadegh, Prime Minister Mohammad, 263
Mount Kennedy, 235
Mount Rushmore, 9
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick, 21, 36
Murphy, Audie, 130
My Left Foot (film), 36
NAACP, 322, 326
Nash, Diane, 324
National Defense Education Act, 240
National Defense Transportation Act, 240
National Draft Goldwater Committee, 18–19
National Election Studies (NEC) survey, 315
National Security Council, 42, 254, 267, 270
National Urban League, 325
Nazimova, Alla, 142
Neal, Patricia, 141
Nehru, Prime Minister Jawaharlal, 215–16
Neustadt, Richard, 12, 222, 232, 247, 260, 273, 338
Nicaragua, 223, 268, 269–70
Nixon, President Richard
and the 1960 presidential election, 167, 177–79, 182
and Alger Hiss, 129
and Communism, 119
on JFK and religion, 298
on JFK’s death, 18
on JFK’s inaugural address, 241
and the polls, 8
presidential contender in 1968, 89, 148, 169, 171
the space program and NASA, 210
Watergate, 12
Nofziger, Lyn, 27–28, 171
Noonan, Peggy, 5, 29, 67, 147, 160, 305
North, Oliver, 261, 270, 272
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), 212, 238
Novak, Robert, 5, 17
Nye, Russel B., 202
Obama, President Barack, 1, 4, 6, 8, 13, 32, 226, 337
O’Connor, Justice Sandra Day, 308–10
Office of Strategic Services (OSS), 261
O’Malley, George, 109
O’Neill, Thomas P. “Tip,” 29, 30, 37, 228, 289, 290, 292
O’Neill, William, 176
O’Regan, Michael, 37
Orman, John, 188
Ormsby-Gore, David, 101
Oswald, Lee Harvey, 17–19
Oswald, Marguerite, 17
Oswald, Marina, 18
Otis, Reverend George, 307
Packwood, Bob, 320
Palin, Sarah, 6
Parmet, Herbert, 158–59, 160
Parr, Jerry, 17, 27
Parsons, Louella, 107
Paul, Rand, 1
Paul VI (pope), 301
Peale, Norman Vincent, 298
Pearson, Drew, 158
Perret, Geoffrey, 138
Peterson, Merrill, 342
Phillips, Howard, 336
Phillips, Vel, 160
Pierce, President Franklin, 11
Polish immigrants, 35
politics today, 339–41
Powell, Colin, 191
Powers, Dave, 138
Powers, Richard Gid, 128
Powers, Thomas, 259
Preminger, Otto, 194
presidential contenders imitating Kennedy and Reagan, 1–7
Pride, Charley, 197
Proposition 13 in California, 171, 286–87
PT-109 (film), 40–41
public opinion polls, surveys, and rankings, 7–8, 10–11, 17, 23
Quayle, Dan, 2
Quiet American, The (Greene), 261, 262
Randolph, A. Philip, 316
Rather, Dan, 24
Raub, Joseph, 337
Reagan, Christine, 121–22
Reagan, John Edward “Jack”
athleticism, 48
background information, 48
business acumen and a love of work, 48–49, 50–51, 80, 81
education, 48
nomadic lifestyle, 48
orphaned at the age of six, 37
problem with alcohol, 60–61, 62, 66, 67, 68–69
wit and humor, 43, 45
Reagan, John Michael, 37
Reagan, John Neil “Moon,” 57–59, 78, 79, 80, 88, 318
Reagan, Maureen, 107
Reagan, Michael, 5, 107
Reagan, Nancy Davis, 27, 134, 140, 142–43, 165
Reagan, Nelle, 57, 59–60, 61, 66–67, 181
Reagan, Patricia, 142
Reagan, President Ronald “Dutch.” See also Kennedy and Reagan—comparisons
on abortion, 171, 306, 308
adopted son, Michael, 107
agreed that blacks had legitimate grievances, 329
as an FBI informant, 131, 132, 261
the arms reduction agreements with the Soviet Union, 213
attempted assassination and near-fatal wound outside the Washington Hilton, 13, 14, 15, 16, 25–31
believed that the civil right movement became a demand for racial preference, 313
Berlin and the Berlin Wall, 256
bombing by Islamic militants of the American Marine barracks in Lebanon, 271
born in Tampico, IL on February 6,1911, 64
budget cuts made during his administration, 331
called to active duty in World War II and absence from the war zone, 108–9
campaign for presidency in 1980, 180–82
and Communism in Latin America, 223–24, 268–70
as a conservative, 336
controlling inflation, 293
criticized the Warren Commission for its investigation of Kennedy’s murder, 19
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, 9, 77
economy sinks into a deep recession, 291, 293
education, 58, 75–76, 78
employment before politics, 58, 68, 71–72, 78–80
Eureka College, 78–79, 86–87, 88
on gays and the AIDS epidemic, 331
governor of California, 154, 168, 170–72, 286–87, 329
his inaugural address, 233
his optimism, 310
home in Dixon turned into a small museum to honor him, 62
host of Death Valley Days, 163, 164, 167
host of General Electric Theater on television, 143, 154–55, 163, 164
impacts of his tax policies as president, 332
inaugural gala, 197–99
Iran-Contra scandal, 259–60, 271–73
joined the Army Reserves, 105–6
as a liberal and then a conservative, 148
as a lifeguard, 71–72, 78, 80
and Margaret Cleaver, 76, 78, 79, 87, 136, 140
marriage and life with Nancy Davis, 134, 140, 142, 143
and MCA, 153–55, 164
and Mikhail Gorbachev, 43, 190, 191, 213, 255–57, 334
movie and television actor, 96–97, 104, 106–7, 120–21, 185
National Association of Evangelicals, 251, 307–8
National Commission on Social Security Reform, 292
president of the Screen Actor’s Guild, 104
and presidential salutes, 110
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), 227–28, 23
1–32
proposed shifting many federal programs to the states, 286
as a radio broadcaster and sportswriter, 58, 68, 80, 91–96
reduction and then elimination of nuclear arms in Europe, 108–9, 256
reelected for another presidential term of office in 1984, 293
release of American hostages in Lebanon, 270–72
religion and the Disciples of Christ, 70, 76, 306–11
reverse discrimination and affirmative action, 329–30
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the unions, 122, 131–32, 152–54, 185
Social Security and Medicare, 286, 289, 292–93
Strategic Defense Initiative (missile defense program), 211–13, 238, 251, 256
switches to the Republican party, 133
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, 292
vision problems - myopia, 64, 88, 104, 108
and Warner Brothers, 96, 106, 108, 120–21
Reagan, Ron, 6, 60–61, 69, 70, 71, 79, 309, 318
Reagan Legacy Project, 235
Reclaiming History (Bugliosi), 19
Reeves, Richard, 199, 220, 222, 257, 339
Reeves, Thomas C., 145, 302
Rehnquist, Justice William, 309
Republican National Committee, 5, 42
Reston, James, 22–23, 241
Revere, Anne, 132
Ridder, Marie, 140
Robbins, Kenneth, 142
Robertson, Cliff, 195
Robertson, Pat, 306
Rockefeller, Nelson, 178, 303
Roe v. Wade legal case, 305, 309
Rollins, Ed, 10
Roman Catholics in the American culture, 35–36, 295–98
Rometsch, Ellen, 139
Romney, Mitt, 1, 6, 295, 311
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 235
Ronald W. Reagan National Airport, 235
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 157, 162, 303
Roosevelt, James, 130
Roosevelt, President Franklin D.
and the New Deal, 80–81, 119, 176–77, 293
and ranking of the greatest presidents, 7, 10, 11
upon his death, 342
wit and humor, 32
and World War II, 98, 220
Roosevelt, President Theodore, 7, 9–10, 11, 25, 164, 187
Rorabaugh, W. J., 300
Rousselot, John, 163
Rubin, Jennifer, 5, 6, 8
Rubio, Marco, 1
Runyan, Damon, 96
Ryan, Paul, 1, 6
Safire, William, 320
Salinger, Pierre, 267
Salvatori, Henry, 167
Samuelson, Paul, 279
Sayre, Wallace, 338
Schary, Dore, 161
Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., 10, 40, 101, 150–51, 173, 221, 234, 335
Schlesinger, Arthur, Sr., 10, 295–96