Book Pick: "JFK's Last Hundred Days" by Thurston Clarke

Thurston Clarke's "JFK's Last Hundred Days" was one of the toughest history books I've ever read but not because of his subject or prose style which were fascinating and flawless, respectively. No, this one was excruciatingly painful because you spend 362 pages marching in almost real time through JFK's last hundred days before Dallas, mesme...rized by the man, astounded by the major breakthroughs in public policy and personal growth, and dreading the outcome you experienced nearly fifty years ago (for those of us who lived it).

JFK's last hundred days coincided with the first expansion of the archaic 15 minute nightly news format to a still measly 30 minutes, just three weeks into the last hundred. 1963 was still a time when the momentous issues of the day were largely shielded from us ordinary folk too busy with family, work, or in my case a tough freshman year at the University of Chicago. And what a time it was. Just 45 days from Dallas, Kennedy signed his premier accomplishment, the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with bi-partisan support from two powerhouse Republicans, predecessor Ike and Illinois Senate giant Everett McKinley Dirksen. On October 28th, with 25 days left, Kennedy shepherded his signature domestic goal, civil rights legislation, through the House Judiciary Committee, again with bi-partisan support, particularly House Minority Leader Charles Halleck of Indiana. Committee passage largely assured its passage in 1964, probably after Kennedy's re-election. In the last hundred days, Kennedy put his resolute stamp on withdrawing the first thousand of the 16,300 advisors in South Vietnam with plans to have them all out by 1965. JFK's motto was "peace first", not "war first", that became the fashion of the 21st century. Other initiatives he was pushing mightily for or planning to announce after the election were the moon race, increasing immigration to Asian and other non Western European lands, addressing poverty, particularly in Appalachia, expanding governmental support of the arts, furthering détente with Russia and establishing diplomatic dialogue with Cuba to reduce hemispheric tensions.

Civility and congressional cooperation at finding real solutions to vexing problems was the norm back then. There was no slash and burn hostage taking by Congressional Republicans. Nor was there a network news organization spreading lies and distortion 24/7/365. There was, however, a strong reservoir of hate percolating in the South over Kennedy's support of civil rights and his efforts to end the Cold War. On November 22, the Dallas Morning News ran a full page ad from the right wing group "American Fact-Finding Committee" which posed this question to the doomed President: "Why have you scrapped the Monroe Doctrine in favor of the 'Spirit of Moscow'?" Many in JFK's circle warned him to skip the political hate show in Dallas since San Antonio, Houston, Ft. Worth and Austin were a sufficient Texas trip.

Alas, the ending didn't magically change and today we face a dysfunctional government that would have been inexplicable to JFK. His never knowing how low American politics could sink is about the only solace we can take from his untimely exit.