"SENATOR KENNEDY SLIPPING AS NOMINATION NEARS"

JFK ARRIVES IN L.A. AS FRONT-RUNNER
  
Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) On July 9, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts arrived here in Los Angeles as the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Despite that fact, JFK still faced competition in the balloting from several other Democrats including Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas.

In addition, former President Harry S Truman expressed reservations about a Kennedy nomination and had asked JFK to "step aside" for a more experienced candidate.  

Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt also balked at the prospect of Senator Kennedy being the party's nominee.  She would give a seconding speech for Adlai Stevenson and in her memoirs expressed misgivings about the primary system.  She wrote...

"the candidates spend their time running down their rivals in the same party (and) furnish a large amount of ammunition to the opposition party."

Future Watergate Committee chairman Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, a delegate at the 1960 Democratic Convention, expressed distaste of a prospective Kennedy nomination by holding up a July 13th late edition of the Los Angeles Herald which read...

"SENATOR KENNEDY SLIPPING AS NOMINATION NEARS"


SOURCES

"The Democratic Convention of 1960," The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, the Eleanor Roosevelt papers.

"1960 Democratic National Convention," www.wikiwand.com/

"1960 Democratic Convention (Sam Ervin)," www.dc.lib.unc.edu/

Senator Kennedy Arrives in Los Angeles

July 9, 1960

JFK Library Photo

WHILE SOME MEN WHO WOULD BE PRESIDENT

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2007

LBJ CHALLENGES JFK AT 1960 CONVENTION

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) Today Bernie Sanders offered his endorsement of Hillary Clinton for the presidency but 56 years ago, July 12, 1960, Lyndon Johnson debated John Kennedy in quest of that same office.

The hour-long debate was conducted without a moderator before the combined delegations of Massachusetts and Texas at the Biltmore Hotel ballroom.  
LBJ challenged JFK to the debate after the front runner offered to meet with any delegation that invited him.

Senator Kennedy acknowledged that many of the Texas delegates, who outnumbered the Massachusetts delegates by a large margin, would not support his civil rights proposals.

Senator Johnson followed with a twenty minute opening statement in which he pointed to his efforts on the floor of the United States Senate "while some men who would be president" were absent.  He was referring to the fact that JFK was out campaigning instead of taking care of his Senate responsibilities.

JFK closed the debate by complimenting LBJ on his work in the Senate and saying that he supported the Texas senator's decision not to enter the primaries.  JFK also expressed his hope that LBJ would continue in his role as majority leader.

Since JFK went on to win the nomination on the first ballot the following evening, it is natural to conclude he won the debate with LBJ, but Senator Johnson did secure the support of some uncommitted Texas delegates and "won almost all former slave states" in the balloting on July 13th.

In addition, Lyndon B. Johnson, without having campaigned in any of the sixteen primaries, was selected by JFK as his vice-presidential running mate and the rest is history.

SOURCES

"Kennedy-Johnson Debate," Our Campaigns, www.ourcampaigns.com/

"The Great Debate, JFK's legacy:  The party's over," by Kathryn Cramer Brownell and Bruce J. Schulman, November 22, 2013, www.blogs.reuters.com/

LBJ at Biltmore Hotel

 July 10, 1960

Library of Congress Photo

PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE ARRIVES IN LA

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2004

CALIFORNIA, HERE JACK COMES

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) The song goes "California, here I come, right back where I started from," but while Senator John F. Kennedy's political career began in Massachusetts, it was here in Los Angeles where he arrived 56 years ago, July 9, 1960, as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party for President of the United States.

Back in those days, they would have just called him the favorite.  In today's media-driven climate, however, JFK would be called the presumptive nominee. But then again, maybe he wasn't necessarily so presumptive as Donald or Hillary.

Despite being the favorite, Senator Kennedy still faced strong opposition within his own party.  Other candidates included Edmund G. Brown, Sr. of California, Michael V. DiSalle of Ohio, George H. McLain of California, Wayne Morse of Oregon, George Smathers of Florida, Adlai Stevenson of Illinois and Stuart Symington of Missouri.

In addition, former President Harry S Truman had expressed reservations about a Kennedy nomination and had, in fact, asked the young Senator to step aside for a more experienced candidate.  Perhaps, the old pol from Missouri might be considered a "Never Kennedy" man. 

Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt also balked at the prospect of Senator Kennedy being the party's nominee.  She would give a seconding speech for Adlai Stevenson and in her memoirs expressed misgivings about the primary system in place in 1960.  She wrote...

"the candidates spend their time running down their rivals in the same party (and) furnish a large amount of ammunition to the opposition party."

Three of the Democratic candidates had not entered any of the primaries.  They were Lyndon Johnson, Adlai Stevenson and Stuart Symington.

LBJ's supporters, including John B. Connally of Texas, brought up the issue of JFK's health saying that the young Senator suffered from Addison's Disease.

Future Watergate Committee chairman Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, a delegate at the 1960 Democratic Convention, expressed the distaste of a prospective Kennedy nomination by holding up a July 13th late edition of the Los Angeles Herald which read...

SENATOR KENNEDY SLIPPING AS NOMINATION NEARS,  SOUTH ANGRY AT CIVIL RIGHTS

The Democratic Platform included planks on civil rights, immigration, foreign aid, the economy, and labor and tax reform.

Despite the opposition, Senator John F. Kennedy was nominated on the First Ballot with 806 votes.  His closest rival, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, received 409 votes.  JFK became the first United States Senator since Warren G. Harding in 1920 to win either party's nomination.

SOURCES

"The Democratic Convention of 1960," The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, the Eleanor Roosevelt papers.

"1960 Democratic National Convention," www.wikiwand.com/

"1960 Democratic Convention (Sam Ervin)," www.dc.lib.unc.edu/

JFK+50 NOTE:

We apologize for not being able to get out a posting yesterday.  We had one of the most severe storms ever here in East Tennessee.  It knocked our power out from 4 pm. until after Noon today.  A 100+ year old oak tree about a mile from our house was taken down and the entire roof blew off a new Dollar Tree nearby.

Senator Kennedy Arrives in Los Angeles

July 9, 1960

JFK Library Photo

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT AT THE 1960 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT AT THE 1960 DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

Former 1st Lady favors Stevenson-Kennedy ticket

Los Angeles, California (JFK+50) While Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts was the 1st choice of the majority of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention meeting here in Los Angeles this week, Adlai Stevenson of Illinois was the preference of former 1st Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.

Mrs. Roosevelt, who served as 1st Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, gave a seconding speech at the convention in behalf of Governor Stevenson.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT RECALLS ROLE AT THE 1960 CONVENTION

In her memoirs, "The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt", the former 1st Lady recalls her reluctant participation in the 1960 Democratic National Convention.

Mrs. Roosevelt writes that following her involvement in the failed 1956 campaign, she was "determined to never again take part in a political campaign."

But those intentions changed in 1960 because of the attempt by the New York State party bosses to replace "the voice of the voters" with their own "boss rule."

Eleanor Roosevelt writes:

"Democracy depends upon the participation of the people in their government.  It cannot survive by boss rule."

And as far as the national nominees of the Democratic Party in 1960, Mrs. Roosevelt writes that she believed the best choice would have been a STEVENSON-KENNEDY ticket.

She does acknowledge that JFK would have his chance at the Presidency at a later time.

Concerning the convention itself, Eleanor Roosevelt says that "as they now function (the party conventions) are obsolete."*

*Mrs. Roosevelt eventually endorsed JFK for President & was appointed by President Kennedy to chair the Commission on the Status of Women in 1961.

                   Eleanor Roosevelt & JFK

                   Meeting at Val Kill, 1960**

**Val Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's home after FDR's death, is located 2 miles east of the Roosevelt family home at Hyde Park, New York.

FDR had encouraged Eleanor to use the 180 acre estate to develop a place to work with rural workers & women as a part of his New Deal program.  

She named it Val Kill, which means waterfall-stream, from the Dutch language.

Today Val Kill is a National Historic Site.

Stone Cottage

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

Hyde Park, New York

Photo by Rolf Muller, 2007