"A HANDSHAKE WITH THE PRESIDENT"

COOLIDGE MAY BE TOO GENEROUS WITH HANDSHAKES 

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 16, 1925, The Evening Star reports that tourist agencies here in the Nation's Capital "have commercialized the graciousness of the President in devoting part of his day to shaking hands (with) hundreds of visitors."

These agencies advertise "a handshake with the President." They also coordinate visits to the White House through members of Congress.

President Calvin Coolidge almost always grants requests for the handshakes.  For example, today alone the President shook hands with 800 visitors.

The Star reports that there has been some discussion at The White House that this situation "exploits the President's generosity" and want the "number of persons admitted" to the Executive Mansion for such handshakes be "strictly limited."

JFK+50 NOTE

I did not have the opportunity of shaking hands or even seeing in person President Kennedy, but there are 4 POTUS I have seen in my lifetime and one that I had the opportunity to shake hands with.

I attended a speech given by President Lyndon B. Johnson at Knoxville's Civic Coliseum in 1965 and later one by President Richard M. Nixon at Neyland Stadium here in Knoxville.  The third was President George Herbert Walker Bush who also spoke at the University of Tennessee.

In 1996, President William Jefferson Clinton made a campaign appearance at Civic Coliseum and I was able to get in a position along the rope line at the end of his speech, shook his hand & made his photograph. (see below). I sent a print to The White House and Mr. Clinton signed it for me.

SOURCE

"Coolidge Handshakes On Sale As Part of Service To Tourists," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., April 16, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/    

President William Jefferson Clinton

Civic Coliseum

Knoxville, Tennessee (1996)

Photo by John White

BILL CLINTON MEETS JFK AT THE WHITE HOUSE

FUTURE POTUS SHAKES JFK'S HAND

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On July 24, 1963, William Jefferson Clinton, the future 42nd POTUS, shook hands with the 35th POTUS John F. Kennedy.  Bill Clinton was a representative of his home state of Arkansas at Boys Nation.

When asked many years later how he managed to get in a position to shake JFK's hand and get his picture made with him, Mr. Clinton said he was in front because Arkansas was positioned there alphabetically, and also because he was "the biggest kid" there.

Bill's mother said when he returned to Arkansas, he was so excited about meeting the President and she felt that's when his ambition to government service was sparked.  Bill was not the only young person so influenced by JFK, but he was most likely the only one who became President of the United States as a result.

*Boys Nation includes 2 representatives from each of 49 states (Hawaii does not participate).  The boys are rising seniors in high school.  They come to Washington to gain "an appreciation for and understanding of the United States system of government."

The 98 boys become "senators" who represent their home states.  They are given tours of the Congress, Pentagon, State Department, Supreme Court & White House.

SOURCE

"Boys Nation class of 2015 arrives in D.C.-Friday," The American Legion, July 14, 2015, www.legion.org/

Bill Clinton Meets JFK

White House Rose Garden

July 24, 1963

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON'S 72ND BIRTHDAY

BILL BLYTHE III BORN IN HOPE

Hope, Arkansas (JFK+50)  William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 at Julia Chester Hospital here in Hope.  Bill's widowed mother, Virginia, was a registered nurse.  Later she remarried Roger Clinton and when Bill started school he changed his name from Blythe to Clinton.

Bill Clinton spent the first four years of his life in a small frame home at 117 S. Hervey Street in Hope.  The family moved to 321 E. 13th Street in 1950 and once again in 1953 to Hot Springs where Bill graduated high school.

Bill Clinton was a delegate at Boys Nation when he shook hands with President John F. Kennedy.  Bill was inspired by the meeting to enter the political profession and in 1992 was elected POTUS.

According to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum...

"In the years since leaving office, President Clinton has dedicated his time to leading the development of global initiatives through his Foundation.  The staff and volunteers of the WJC Foundation focus on programs of community service, drug acquisition for HIV/AIDS treatment and fighting childhood obesity in the United States."

SOURCE

William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, www.clintonfoundation.org/

Bill Clinton Boyhood Home

Hope, Arkansas

Photo by Billy Hathorn (2008)

President Bill Clinton

Knoxville, Tennessee

Photo by John White (1996)

               

JFK+50 NOTE

I made this photo of BC when he visited Knoxville during the re-election campaign in 1996.  I managed to work my way down to the rope line to get in position to take the picture.

I sent a couple of copies of the photo to the White House and asked President Clinton to sign one for me.  You can see part of his signature in the upper left hand corner.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

PRESIDENT CLINTON's 69TH BIRTHDAY

PRESIDENT CLINTON 69 YEARS OLD TODAY

Hope, Arkansas (JFK+50)  William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, was born William Jefferson Blythe III sixty-nine years ago today, August 19, 1946, at the Julia Chester Hospital here in Hope.

Bill's widowed mother, Virginia, was a registered nurse.  Later she remarried Roger Clinton and when Bill started school he changed his name from Blythe to Clinton.

Bill Clinton spent the first four years of his life in a small frame home at 117 S. Hervey Street in Hope.  The family moved to 321 E. 13th Street in 1950 and once again in 1953 to Hot Springs where Bill graduated high school.

Bill Clinton was a delegate at Boys Nation when he shook hands with President John F. Kennedy.  William Jefferson Clinton was inspired by the meeting to enter the political profession and in 1992 was elected 42nd President of the United States.

According to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum...

"In the years since leaving office, President Clinton has dedicated his time to leading the development of global initiatives through his Foundation.  The staff and volunteers of the WJC Foundation focus on programs of community service, drug acquisition for HIV/AIDS treatment and fighting childhood obesity in the United States."

SOURCE

William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, www.clintonfoundation.org/

Bill Clinton Boyhood Home

Hope, Arkansas

Photo by Billy Hathorn (2008)

President Bill Clinton

Knoxville, Tennessee

Photo by John White (1996)

               

JFK+50 NOTE

I made this close-up photograph of the President when he and Vice-President Al Gore came to Knoxville during the re-election campaign in 1996.  I managed to work my way down to the rope line and took the picture just after having shaken his hand.  

I sent a couple of copies of the photo to the White House and asked President Clinton to sign one for me.  You can see part of his signature in the upper left hand corner.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

FRANCIS GARY POWERS SENT TO PRISON 

Moscow (JFK+50) American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers*, captured after being shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, was sentenced here in Moscow fifty-five years ago today, August 19, 1960, to a prison term of ten years for espionage.

Powers was shot down over Sverdlovsk in the Ural Mountains.  Although able to eject before the crash and make it safely to the ground by parachute, Powers was quickly taken into custody by Soviet authorities.

Powers pleaded guilty but 18 months after his sentencing the U2 pilot was released in exchange for KGB spy Rudolf Abel.

*Francis Gary Powers was born in Jenkins, KY and grew up in Pound, VA.  After graduating from Milligan College in Tennessee in 1950, he joined the USAF as a 2nd Lt.  Powers was then recruited for reconnaissance missions by the CIA.  FGP dies in a helicopter crash in 1977.

Francis Gary Powers

Photo by Chernov

RIA Novosti Archive

Image #351721/Chernov/

CC-BY-SA 3.0

BILL CLINTON IMPEACHED

BILL CLINTON IMPEACHED BY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Sixteen years ago today, December 19, 1998, the United States House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment against the 42nd President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton.

There were two more articles which did not pass.  Those articles said that the President provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony in the Paula Jones case and had misused and abused his office by making perjurious, false and misleading statements to Congress.

The two articles which did pass were...

1. The president provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury regarding the Paula Jones case and his relations with Monica Lewinsky.

2. The president obstructed justice in an effort to delay, impede, cover up and conceal the existence of evidence relative to the Jones case.

The Washington Post reported that the House vote on these two articles was "virtually along party lines," with 5 Democrats voting FOR and 5 Republicans voting AGAINST Article  1 and 12 Republicans voting AGAINST and 5 Democrats FOR Article 2.

The trial was held in the United States Senate from January 7 through February 12, 1999.  The President was acquitted on both charges and completed his second term.

President Clinton in Knoxville

Civic Auditorium

Photo by John White (1996)

SOURCE

"Articles of Impeachment and Judiciary Committee Roll Call Votes, December 19, 1998," www.washingtonpost.com

JOE KENNEDY SR. HAS STROKE 

Palm Beach, Florida (JFK+50) Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., father of President John F. Kennedy, suffered a massive stroke here in Palm Beach 53 years ago today, December 19, 1961.

The elder Kennedy was rushed to St. Mary's Hospital where the stroke was diagnosed.

The 73 year old former Ambassador to the Court of St. James was on the golf course at the time he was stricken.

David Nasaw writes in "The Patriarch,"

"Joseph P. Kennedy had suffered an 'intracranial thrombosis,' a blood clot in the artery in the brain, which had triggered a massive stroke.  The clot was inoperable."

The stroke left Joe Sr. paralyzed on the right side of his body and  limited his speech to the single long, drawn out word "Nooooooooo."

Nasaw tells us that JPK was discharged from the hospital on January 8, 1962..."with no improvement in his paralysis" or ability to speak.  Despite being unable to talk, however, Joe Sr. "appeared to understand everything that was said to him (and) everything he heard or saw."

The Patriarch passed away at the age of 81 on November 18, 1969.  He had outlived 4 of his 9 children and lived days short of 6 years longer than JFK.

David Nasaw concludes his work on Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. with these words...

"(He) died peacefully in the place he loved more than any other, at Hyannis Port."

SOURCES

"Ambassador In Spite of Himself." by Thomas Mallen, December 31, 2000
"New York times On the Web"

"Joseph P. Kennedy: A Portrait of the Founder," by Richard J. Whalan, Fortune Classics, 1963.

"The Patriarch:  The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy," by David Nasaw, The Penguin Press, New York, 2012.

                   Joe Sr.'s Birthday
                       Hyannis Port
                  September 7, 1963
      Photo by Cecil W. Stoughton
                 JFK Library Photo

BILL CLINTON NOMINATES OBAMA

BILL CLINTON NOMINATES OBAMA

Charlotte, North Carolina (JFK+50) Barack Obama was nominated for a 2nd term as the 44th President of the United States last night by both the 42nd President, William Jefferson Clinton*, and by an overwhelming majority of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention meeting here in Charlotte.

The former president, who was inspired as a teenager to enter in a career of public service after shaking hands with President Kennedy, said:

"I want to nominate a man who ran for president to change the course of an already weak economy (but) just 6 weeks before his election, saw it suffer the biggest collapse since the Great Depression."

Bill Clinton continued...

"We Democrats...think the country works better with a strong middle class, with real opportunities...for poor folks to work their way into it...with business and government...working together to promote growth and broadly shared prosperity.

You see we believe that 'We're all in this together' is a far better philosophy than 'You're on your own.'"

Mr. Clinton, who was frequently interrupted with applause, went on to say that it would have been impossible for him to have the same hatred of Republican presidents the way some right wing Republicans seem to hate President Obama.

He cited President Eisenhower's sending federal troops to his home state of Arkansas to enforce integration and for building the interstate highway system.

He also talked about his cooperation with both President Reagan and George H.W. Bush on the issues of welfare reform and national education.

Mr. Clinton advised:

"What works in the real world is co-operation not constant conflict."

And he added that one of the main reasons Mr. Obama should be re-elected is because...

 "he is still committed to constructive cooperation."

The former president satirized the Republican argument this way...

"We (Republicans) left (Obama) a total mess.  He hasn't cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in."

He said he likes the case for Obama's reelection much better:

"He put a floor under the crash and began the...hard road to recovery and laid the foundation for a...more well-balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs..."

The 42nd President concluded with these words:

"I love our country so much.  And I know we're coming back.  For more than 200 years, through every major crisis, we've always come back...a little stronger and  a little better."  

*William Jefferson Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas in 1946.  He graduated from Georgetown University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. 

He served as Attorney General and Governor of Arkansas before being elected President of the United States in 1992.  

Clinton was re-elected in 1996.  Although impeachment charges were brought against him, he was found not guilty and completed his 2nd term.

           President Clinton in Knoxville
             Photo by John White (1996)