All language subtitles for Kennedy.2023.S01E04.1080p.WEB.H264-EDITH

Previously
on "Kennedy"...

- He’d climb one
rung of the ladder.

Then he’d start looking
to the next one.

The presidential
election of 1956

would be an
important opportunity

for Kennedy to gain momentum
on his political journey.

- He spotted a potential
opening for himself,

so Kennedy thought he could
butter up Adlai Stevenson

and be chosen as an
ideal running mate.

- He campaigns vigorously
for Adlai Stevenson.

He would soon know
if his efforts had been enough

to claim the vice
presidential nomination.

- To lead us to a
fruitful America,

from the state of Massachusetts,

John F. Kennedy.

John F. Kennedy
lived a life that would help

define an entire generation.

- Together we shall
save our planet,

or together we shall
perish in its flames.

- What was it about that guy?

- Looks, style, empathy.

He was incredibly charming.

- Intellectual and progressive.

- He was the
future. He was next.

President for
just over a thousand days,

Kennedy navigated
events and crises

that changed the world.

- Kennedy is
feeling the pressure

from the civil rights activists.

- This was a country
on nuclear war footing.

- This could be the last mistake

that anybody makes politically.

- He changed us in the
process of his own growth.

- We choose to go to
the moon in this decade

and do the other things,
not because they are easy

but because they are hard.

60 years
after his assassination,

we are still fascinated
by the triumphs and flaws

of the youngest
president ever elected.

- I ask you to join us in
all the tomorrows yet to come

in building America,
moving America,

picking this country of ours up,

and sending it into the ’60s.

August 1956.

It was off to Chicago

for the 1956 Democratic
National Convention.

- These are taking place
in the televised age

by the 1950s and ’60s.

And part of what
parties are trying to do

is tell Americans

what kinds of issues
do they stand for,

who are some of our
most exciting figures,

who are the voices
of the future.

That’s where Kennedy
fits in in 1956.

When Kennedy
arrived, he denied allegations

that he sought the vice
presidential nomination.

- Playing games, clearly,

he was better
prepared than anybody.

That was really his first gambit

was to seize
control of the state

Democratic apparatus,
which he did.

Secretly, his team
had prepared for months,

working to support Stevenson
and boost Kennedy’s chance

to be chosen as
his running mate.

However, Stevenson decided
not to choose at all.

Stevenson
decided he would allow

state delegates to
choose the nominee,

meaning each vice presidential
candidate would have

to scramble for
the next 24 hours,

trying to collect
the most votes.

Kennedy decided to
chase the nomination.

Rushing to pull a team together,

Kennedy, his family
members, Sorensen,

and the larger Kennedy
machine went into motion.

It was a frenzied, messy,

nonstop political free-for-all.

- It’s fascinating.

We’re still in the era
of backroom politics

with smoky back rooms, you know?

This is not an era
as we live in now

where it’s all decided before
that convention starts.

I mean, was Keith
Arthur gonna be named,

or was Kennedy gonna be named?

Kennedy’s team
raced around the convention,

trying to secure as many
delegates as possible

to win the vice
presidential nomination.

The hotel room-
turned-campaign headquarters

was suddenly bursting
with activity.

Bobby Kennedy took on
a key campaign role,

attempting to personally
persuade delegates

to vote for his brother

and scolding them
if they didn’t.

During that frantic 24
hours, Kennedy’s father, Joe,

called campaign headquarters.

Bobby answered the phone.

The room froze and
stared at Bobby,

observing his alarmed
reaction to what he heard

on the other end of the line.

Joe was incensed that
his son had decided

to run for the vice
presidential nomination,

certain that a
defeat would destroy

Jack’s political future.

- You can imagine, you know,

probably a good
bit of profanity,

telling him how dumb
they were to do it.

Joe insisted
that Kennedy back down.

Jack refused.

As the results were tallied,

Kennedy seemed to
be in the lead.

- So yeah, I watched it,

and I’m begging them to
pick John F. Kennedy.

Campaign
headquarters waited

in joyful anticipation,

but suddenly there
was a roadblock.

The votes began
to swing in favor

of Tennessee senator
Estes Kefauver.

Before long, two candidates,

Senator Hubert
Humphrey of Minnesota

and Albert Gore of Tennessee,

receded from the race.

As the final votes came
in, the Kennedy camp knew

it was not in his favor.

In the end, Kefauver won the
nomination for vice president.

- The Democratic Party will
go from this convention

far stronger for what
we have done here today.

Kennedy returned
home empty-handed after losing

the vice presidential
nomination,

but he had won a major victory.

After appearing on
TV numerous times

and proving himself
a charming, youthful,

and hardworking presence
at the convention,

Kennedy had a surge
in popularity.

- I want to take
this opportunity

first to express
my appreciation.

- He has used this to
get his name out there.

He’s used this to make
deals, to make friends,

to try to add to
his organization.

Following
Stevenson’s defeat

and Eisenhower’s reelection,

the Kennedy family
gathered at Hyannis Port

for Thanksgiving in 1956.

Kennedy and his father, Joe,
are huddled in a small study,

discussing the future.

After Kennedy’s
surge in popularity

at the Democratic
National Convention,

questions arose about
a presidential run.

Kennedy listed every
reason why he believed

running for president
was a bad idea.

His father countered
each point one by one.

The two went back and forth

until the conversation
reached a stalemate.

Finally, Kennedy
uttered four words

that would unwittingly change
the course of his life:

where do we begin?

- Somebody once asked him,

why do you want to
run for president?

And his answer:

that’s where the action is.

He wanted to be
where the action was.

The Kennedy
presidential campaign

started very early,

before any other candidate.

Money could buy advertisements,

but time was a luxury that
could not be purchased.

Ted Sorensen said one
hour of work in 1957

was the equivalent to two
hours of work in 1958.

- And in those days,
Kennedy was not traveling

with a great entourage.

It was basically Ted,

who would keep track
of the speeches.

He would attend and
listen carefully

to every speech, what
worked, what didn’t,

what could be more clear.

They analyzed the
political situation.

What were the key states?

And that’s where they started.

In 1957,
Kennedy participated

in more than 140
campaign events,

building momentum for
his presidential run

as well as his upcoming Senate
reelection race in 1958.

- The number of days on the road

in ’57, ’58, ’59,

there’s a famous story about
Lyndon Johnson looking up

one day in the
Senate in ’57 or ’58

and saying something
like, where’s Kennedy?

I never see him around.

He spent
a great deal of time

drumming up support from

and forming relationships
with journalists,

taking advantage of
each press inquiry.

- There was a tremendous
amount of exposure

in the national mass
circulation press,

"Time" magazine, "Life."

Kennedy created
a campaign division

solely to monitor public
opinion and collect data.

- They’re writing down
the name and the address

of every single
person that he’s met,

putting it on an index card.

By 1960, they have maybe
10,000 index cards.

- It gave a personal touch to it

so that the audience felt

recognized and appreciated.

Eventually, they built a deep
file of political contacts,

friends and supporters.

- Nobody had ever
campaigned like that before.

With the 1958 Senate
election swiftly approaching,

Kennedy’s months of effort
on the campaign trail

were paying off.

- The impression that stays
with me is that what started

as a rather small
effort began to grow

and to grow and to grow.

And at first, the audience
might be 100 people.

Then it was 500.
Then it was 1,000.

Then it was a full auditorium
and people outside.

They just got this
positive response

that encouraged
them to carry on.

In 1958, Kennedy
won Senate reelection

by the largest margin in
Massachusetts history.

After the victory, Kennedy
knew his sole focus

had to be the presidential race.

Although he had not yet
announced his candidacy,

Kennedy secretly
campaigned with an eye

towards a national audience,

building towards
the 1960 election.

To enhance his
image as a serious politician,

Kennedy and Sorensen
made it a goal

to release an assortment
of scholarly articles

and pamphlets expressing
Kennedy’s politics,

ideas, and observations.

In public, Kennedy
spoke about topics

like health care,
public school funding,

and foreign policy concerns.

- He was a mainstream Democrat
who believed in the Cold War.

He believed in the
welfare state at home.

So he was anti-communist
in his foreign policy.

In a very firm way, he was
sort of a Roosevelt disciple

in terms of domestic
policy in this country.

- He’s talking about,
get America moving again

so we can compete
against the Soviet Union.

The Cold War is what dominates

the 1960 election
almost completely.

- Kennedy developed a
way of looking at America

that was fresh,

that the country was
a little bit stuck,

that it needed a new push,

that it needed some goals

that might excite people
and stimulate effort.

To win
the presidency,

Kennedy would have
to be nominated

at the Democratic National
Convention in 1960.

To get the nomination,
he would need to persuade

at least 761 delegates
from around the country

to support him.

In the months leading
up to the convention,

Kennedy trekked
across the country,

meeting with state leaders
and influential politicians.

- He was everywhere.

The more people saw of him,

the better he did.

Nobody had ever worked like that

as a presidential candidate.

In 1959,
Joe Kennedy purchased

an American Airlines aircraft,

fitted it with a new interior,

and donated it to his son’s
presidential campaign.

That plane, called "Caroline,"

was the first private
aircraft ever used

by a presidential candidate.

It was a sizable tribute

to the newest Kennedy
family member.

- I think, of all the things
his father did for him,

having that plane
was a big deal,

because I think it
increased his mobility,

particularly in ’59.

During the
campaign, the airplane logged

more than 100,000 miles.

Ted Sorensen called
the Kennedy campaign

a highly organized
army ready for battle.

- I am today
announcing my candidacy

for the presidency
of the United States.

- Senator Kennedy,
if you don’t win

the presidential nomination,

will you accept the
vice presidency?

- I shall not, under
any conditions,

be a candidate for
vice president.

If I fail in this endeavor,
I shall return and serve

in the United States Senate.

To win the
presidential nomination,

Kennedy needed delegates.

He set his eyes on
state primaries,

a series of daunting obstacles
he would have to overcome.

His major Democratic
rival, Lyndon Johnson,

opted to sit them all out,

feeling that his influence
and years spent in Congress

would be enough to earn the
nomination at the convention.

However, Kennedy believed
winning at the primaries

would carry him into the
convention with momentum.

In March of 1960, Kennedy
dove into his first primary

in New Hampshire
and won handily.

- You know, because it’s
neighboring to Massachusetts,

it wasn’t considered a
breakthrough on his part.

Next comes Wisconsin.

Kennedy gave
unprecedented access

to documentarian Robert
Drew and his crew

to follow him as he campaigned
in the Wisconsin primary.

- You’re essentially running
against Hubert Humphrey,

who’s, you know, trying to
do a low-funded campaign

but high-energy.

And Wisconsin, of
course, is neighboring

to his own Minnesota,
so he’s putting his all

into that campaign.

- He wasn’t nearly as good on
the campaign trail as Kennedy.

- Listen, now,
anybody I didn’t get?

’Cause I guess we’re late.

Yeah, whose is this?
- Mine.

- Whose is this?
- Mine.

- If you would write
me at the Senate,

I’ll send you a picture
and an autograph

and something about the Capitol.

- Where should we write?

- Just write me,
Senator Kennedy,

the Senate, Washington, D.C.

- There. That’s it.

And the eyes just
above the camera.

That’s just fine.

- He was really good-looking.

That helps.

- Kennedy’s physical
attractiveness was huge.

He looked great, particularly
when he was feeling well,

and he always seemed
to have a suntan.

- You know, he had that
kind of bon vivant quality.

Men want to be him.
Women want to have him.

There’s something to that.

- It became a kind
of running joke

among many of the
reporters covering him

about the women who
would flock to see him

like they would flock
to see Elvis Presley

or some kind of
movie star celebrity.

And he made his youth
into an attractive quality

by associating it with sort
of the dawning of a new age.

It was time to get the
country moving again.

As Kennedy
campaigned in 1960,

he honed the power of his words.

- Well, John F. Kennedy knew
how to deliver a speech.

- He was funny, and he
gave short speeches.

They’re witty.

They’re to the point.

They were all at most
6 paragraphs, maybe 12.

Make them want more.

- I run for the presidency
because, like you,

I have strong ideas about
what this country must do.

I have strong ideas
about the United States

playing a great role
in a historic moment.

When the cause of
freedom is endangered

all over the world...

- These are rhetorical devices

to make your words
more powerful.

- But that particular accent
and the particular pacing

and all of that, I don’t
think anybody’s come

anywhere close to it.

- This is somebody who gives
speeches that make people want

to get up and march somewhere.

- Well, ladies and
gentlemen, I ask your help.

I ask your help in
building the United States.

I ask your help in
reestablishing the prestige

and strength of our country.

I ask your help.

April
1960, Wisconsin.

The campaign lasted four weeks.

While Kennedy did well in
large cities like Milwaukee,

Humphrey spent much of his time

with farmers in rural areas.

Humphrey was far more
familiar with that territory

than his upper-class
opponent from Boston.

- This is the heart of
Senator Kennedy’s strength,

the heavily
populated city areas,

particularly the Polish
Catholic fourth district

in Milwaukee.

- We would have passed
that bill two years ago,

but it failed by one
vote in the Senate

when the president
withdrew his support

on the day the bill
was coming up to vote.

That’s how important the
office of the presidency is.

He shall determine what shall
be our policy on Berlin.

He shall determine whether
we shall be at war or peace.

When the
Wisconsin numbers came in,

Kennedy and his
team were shaken.

He had won by only 13%,
a dramatic contrast

to his landslide victory
in New Hampshire.

- It punctured the
Kennedy momentum

for a brief, brief period,
that they really realized

they had to regroup.

♪ Back Jack ♪

♪ Jack is on the right track ♪

♪ ’Cause he’s got high hopes ♪

After Wisconsin,
Kennedy won in Illinois,

his home state of Massachusetts,

Pennsylvania,
Indiana, and Nebraska.

But the next destination,
West Virginia,

would prove to be a challenge
unlike any state so far.

- As different
from Massachusetts

or anything John
Kennedy had ever known,

very Protestant,
very few Catholics,

people who didn’t know wealth.

West
Virginia was rural,

at the heart of
America’s coal country.

- Coal mines were
running at 100% capacity.

Everybody was busy, but it
still had the reputation

of having pockets of poverty.

And I think that’s how
Kennedy was briefed,

that he was going to be coming
into a poverty-stricken place.

Instead he found a lot
of working coal miners.

The campaign
increased its intensity

beyond what it had
displayed in Wisconsin.

The Humphrey camp followed suit.

One of the biggest gripes
the general public had

with Kennedy was
his Catholic faith.

This was especially
true in West Virginia.

- You would be divided
between two loyalties,

to your church
and to your state,

if you were to be
elected president.

- Yeah, the question is
whether I think that...

if I were elected president,

I would be divided
between two loyalties,

my church and my state.

Let me just say
that I would not.

I have sworn to uphold
the Constitution.

In the 14 years I’ve
been in Congress,

in the years I was
in the service,

the Constitution provides
in the First Amendment

that Congress shall make no laws

abridging the
freedom of religion.

I must say I believe in it.

I think it’s the only way that
this country can go ahead.

I am sure that no one
believes that I’d be

a candidate for the presidency

if I didn’t think I could
meet my oath of office.

This
clear, strong oath

seemed to quiet
the local critics.

On May 10th, Kennedy won
60% of the popular vote

in West Virginia.

That afternoon,
overcome with emotion

from the hard-fought campaign,

Humphrey tearfully announced
he would no longer seek

the Democratic nomination.

Kennedy won more votes
than any other candidate

in the Democratic primaries,

walking away with 32.5%
of the total vote.

It was a significant
accomplishment,

but it wasn’t enough to
lock in the nomination.

With the nomination
up for grabs,

Kennedy took off for the
Democratic National Convention

in Los Angeles.

- I want to assure you
that today we begin here

in this city an effort
to win this nomination,

which I believe
will be successful.

At the 1960
Democratic National Convention

in Los Angeles,
Kennedy was vying

for the presidential nomination

against Lyndon Johnson of Texas,

Stuart Symington of Missouri,

and Adlai Stevenson of Illinois.

- If we’re going to
successfully move

through the ’60s,

if we’re going to be true
to our destiny of being

the great defender of freedom
in these dangerous times,

then the United States
must build its strength.

Civil rights
were this convention’s

hot-button topic.

- You know, the experiences
of African Americans

vary greatly.

The common thread is
segregation, discrimination,

denial of opportunity.

- It was a movement that could
not be contained in the South

or even in the United States.

It was a powerful
human statement

for the desire
for human freedom,

and that is what gave
it so much power.

Despite
his lackluster record

on the issue,

Kennedy took a decisive
step by supporting

a progressive civil rights
plank at the convention.

This plank called for
the complete elimination

of discrimination based on race,

religion, and national origin.

It also demanded fair
employment practices

and openly advocated the
sit-in demonstrations

occurring all over
the Deep South.

- So at that convention,
what’s notable

is the lead that the
Kennedy group takes

in insisting on a strong
civil rights plank,

responding to the
demands that are rising,

the pressures that
are accelerating,

and, most significantly, the
importance of Black voting

in Northern industrial states.

After this
unflinching stance

was announced,

nine Southern states
promptly signed a document

denouncing Kennedy
as a candidate.

- It wasn’t like everybody
was for John Kennedy in 1960.

That was clear.

People were counting,

are we gonna get the number
of votes on the first ballot?

So there was a tension as to
whether it was gonna work,

absolutely, total tension.

The legwork
done by the Kennedy camp

over the past four years

finally paid off
on July 13, 1960.

Amidst tens
of thousands of people,

Kennedy accepted the
Democratic nomination

at the Los Angeles Coliseum

and chose his former
opponent, Lyndon Johnson,

as his vice presidential
running mate,

believing the Texas
senator would help secure

the Southern political support
he needed to win the election.

- And we stand today on
the edge of a new frontier,

the frontier of the 1960s,

the frontier of unknown
opportunities and perils,

the frontier of unfilled
hope and unfilled threats.

The new frontier is here,
whether we seek it or not.

Beyond that frontier
are uncharted areas

of science and space,

unsolved problems
of peace and war.

The 1960
presidential race

between Kennedy and Nixon

would be the first widely
televised election in history.

If the American
people couldn’t see

their candidate in person,

they could watch him from the
comfort of their own home.

The candidates would
debate four times,

arguing their case
to the nation.

- The candidates
need no introduction,

the Republican candidate,

Vice President
Richard M. Nixon,

and the Democratic candidate,
Senator John F. Kennedy.

- The president
gained, America gained

by continuing the
dignity, the decency

that has characterized us,

and it’s that that keeps
the prestige of America up,

not running down America
the way Senator Kennedy

has been running her down.

- Much as Richard
Nixon is criticized,

he mounted the stage
of the Republican Party

on five separate occasions

to accept the nomination
for national office,

three times for president
and twice for vice president.

He was formidable.

- I really don’t need
Mr. Nixon to tell me

about what my responsibilities
are as a citizen.

I’ve served this country
for 14 years in the Congress

and before that in the service.

I have just as high a devotion,
just as high an opinion.

- You look at the
Kennedy-Nixon debate,

a Republican running
at the center

and a Democrat running
at the center in 1960

don’t disagree on much.

And so when people were trying
to decide who do they want,

you have two people
who want the job

who are saying
they’re pretty much

gonna do similar things.

So then TV becomes that
much more important

because you’re making
your decisions based on,

what does your gut tell you?

Kennedy presents very
differently than Nixon.

- And the difference
between the crowds

the day before that debate

and the crowds
after that debate,

the crowds the next
morning heading into Iowa

were enormous.

We called them the dancers.

The crowds, if you look down
the street half a mile away,

you started to see...
as soon as they saw him,

you could see the
crowd start to jump.

- I don’t think I looked at
him as some sort of a sex idol.

I looked at him as an energizer.

He was the future.

He was next.

- I think one of the
most important things

was when he called
Coretta Scott King

in the election

when Martin Luther
King was arrested.

- Martin Luther King
is busted in Georgia

on a phony parole
violation charge.

He’s sent off to a
rural Georgia prison,

where there’s great
fear that he will never

get out of there alive.

- He was arrested after
participating in a sit-in,

but he had an outstanding
traffic violation,

so he wasn’t given bail.

He’s put in the jail.

And this was the end of October.

The election’s
beginning in November.

- Nixon... who,
I think, frankly,

had a better civil rights record

during the last eight
years than Kennedy...

froze, and he didn’t
know what to do.

He was trying to
compete in the South,

and so he didn’t
want to inflame...

he thought he might win over
some Southern Democrats.

So Nixon tried to just kind
of put his head in the sand

and just hope that
this King incarceration

would be resolved quickly
by local officials.

Kennedy makes a phone call...
it lasted maybe a minute

or two... to Coretta
Scott King and just said,

I’m worried about your husband,

and we’ll be thinking of you,

and we’ll do
everything we can do.

- That sent a huge message
to the Black community

that John F. Kennedy,
that he was helpful.

And they got Martin
Luther King out of jail.

- Kennedy’s action
redounded in his favor.

King’s father, Martin
Luther King Sr.,

was actually intending
to vote for Nixon.

- And when they got
Dr. King out of jail,

Daddy King said, I got a
whole suitcase full of votes,

and now they’re
going to Kennedy.

And so that was a signal
where Black people

then lined up behind
John F. Kennedy.

With time running
out before the election,

Kennedy and Nixon were
still in a tight race.

Kennedy knew that to
win, he needed to address

any last concerns
the public still had.

- This program this evening

does not constitute
an endorsement

of either the speaker

or the party which
he represents.

The program has been motivated
by the religious issues

in this campaign.

- He’s looking at
the polling data.

They decide, look,
we’ve got to take

the Catholicism issue head-on.

- The talk on the street was,
he’ll kiss the pope’s ring.

The pope calls him every morning

and tells him what to do.

I mean, I remember this.

I was a Catholic
schoolkid at the time.

Kennedy knew he
had to address the subject

in a public arena one last
time before the election.

He chose Houston
as the location,

where the Greater Houston
Ministerial Conference

was taking place.

- I believe in an America

where the separation of
church and state is absolute,

for while this year,
it may be a Catholic

against whom the finger
of suspicion is pointed,

in other years, it has been

and may someday be
again a Jew or a Quaker

or a Unitarian or a Baptist.

- He made his points
forcefully but not...

he was very good in not
being overly combative.

But he was assertive.

- And we raised the question
because we would like to know,

if you are elected president
and your church elects to use

that privilege and obligation,

what your response will be
under those circumstances.

- If my church attempted
to influence me in a way

which was improper or
which affected adversely

my responsibilities
as a public servant

sworn to uphold
the Constitution,

then I would reply to them

that this was an improper
action on their part.

It would be an
unfortunate breach

of an interference with the
American political system.

After the speech,
Kennedy spoke off the cuff,

answering a series of questions

from the ministers that had
not been screened in advance.

- I’m sure that I have made
no converts to my church,

but I do hope...

I do hope that at least
my view, which I believe

to be the view of my fellow
Catholics who hold office,

I hope that it may
be of some value

in at least assisting you
to make a careful judgment.

Racing
across the country

and fueled by adrenaline,

Kennedy often had dark
circles around his eyes.

Without much time
to rest or eat,

just days before the
election, Kennedy claimed,

I’m going to last
about five more days,

but that’s time enough.

- It’s the day before
the election in 1960,

and Kennedy finishes
in Waterbury,

Springfield, and Boston
Garden that night.

My grandmother marched
us down to city hall

to see this remarkable
presentation.

I remember one
sign that was hung

on the Grand Army Hall of
the Republic that said,

welcome home, Jack.

I mean, I’m 11 years old
and looking up and saying,

you know, tomorrow this
guy could be the president.

And nobody knows
how the election

is still gonna turn out.

- His last speech
was at Boston Garden.

And it was brilliant.

It was absolutely brilliant.

- So I come here tonight.

I thank you for
your past support.

I ask you to join us tomorrow.

And most of all, I
ask you to join us...

if we are successful,

I ask you to join us
in all the tomorrows

yet to come in building America,

moving America, picking
this country of ours up,

and sending it into the ’60s.

Finally,
Election Day had arrived.

Kennedy, his wife, Jackie,

and their two-year-old
daughter, Caroline,

were camped out at Hyannis Port.

- Joe Kennedy, the father,

had a big place in Hyannis Port,

and we were invited to be
there on election night

as the returns were coming in.

And the cohesion
among the family,

it was a beautiful sight.

- Photographers and reporters
are all around them,

for this is the man who,
in the next 24 hours,

may become president
of the United States

and she first lady of the land.

Jackie was
pregnant with John Jr.,

due at the end of the month.

Jackie described the scene
as a cold, clear autumn day.

She would later remember her
husband as restless but quiet,

spending some time in the
sun and then trying to nap.

- From the very beginning,
it becomes obvious

that this is going to
be a close election.

The television networks have
made elaborate preparations

to broadcast the
election returns

as they come in from
the different parts

of the country.

Huge tally boards
post the returns

as they come in minute
by minute, hour by hour.

- The excitement of being there,

watching the returns coming in,

it was neck and neck all night.

- I guess the thing I really
remember trying to stay up.

Come on, I’m not
gonna stay up till...

stay up till 6:00 tomorrow
morning and find out

we still got 10 hours
to go, you know.

But we stayed up awful
late, and we had no idea.

- In Illinois, the
voting will be so close

that the lead will
go back and forth

from one candidate to the other,

but then this turns
into a seesaw battle

in quite a few of the
states all night long.

As darkness
set over Cape Cod,

Kennedy hung up the phone
with his brother Bobby

after learning the numbers
would not be in for hours.

He retired to his bedroom.

In the morning, Kennedy’s
closest aide, Ted Sorensen,

set out for Kennedy’s house,

just like any other
day in Hyannis Port.

As he approached, he noticed
something was different.

Secret Service agents were
stationed around the home.

John F. Kennedy was
the next president

of the United States.

Kennedy won the election

with 303 electoral
votes to Nixon’s 219.

The popular vote
was much closer,

with Kennedy receiving only
118,000 more votes than Nixon.

- To all Americans, I say
that the next four years

are going to be difficult
and challenging years

for us all.

The election may have
been a close one,

but I think that there
is general agreement

by all of our citizens

that a supreme national
effort will be needed

in the years ahead

to move this country
safely through the 1960s.

I ask your help in this effort,

and I can assure you
that every degree

of mind and spirit
that I possess

will be devoted to the
long-range interest

of the United States

and to the cause of
freedom around the world.

So now my wife and I prepare
for a new administration

and for a new baby.

Thank you.

- He ends up writing

his farewell speech
to Massachusetts,

which is astonishingly
eloquent and powerful.

- For 14 years, I have
placed my confidence

in the citizens
of Massachusetts,

and they have
generously responded

by placing their
confidence in me.

Now on the Friday after next,

I am to assume new and
broader responsibilities.

We must always
consider, he said,

that we shall be as
a city upon a hill.

The eyes of all
people are upon us.

I ask for your help
and your prayers

as I embark on this
new and solemn journey.

Next on "Kennedy"...

- I, John Fitzgerald
Kennedy, do solemnly swear

that I will faithfully execute

the office of president
of the United States.

- He’s very young, and
he doesn’t fit the mold.

- How would he do
on the world stage,

given he was so young
and inexperienced?

- He was instantly
overwhelmed by it.

The sheer number of concerns

that were piled onto his plate,

and they were urgent issues.