Reflections

There was a pleasant surprise in store for President Kennedy. Landing at West Palm Beach for an Easter vacation, he spied his father awaiting him in a car. It was the first time that Joseph P. Kennedy had been seen so publicly since suffering a stroke last December. Slowly, Old Joe raised his left arm in greeting. The President reached into the car, affectionately clasped his father's hand. Then he slipped behind the steering wheel, drove off for ten days of Florida relaxation--and reflection.

There was a lot for Kennedy to reflect about. For the second time since assuming office, he had passed through a crisis of decision. Both crises, not surprisingly, involved the use of presidential power. In the first--the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba--Kennedy had failed to use the power that was his to command. In the second--Big Steel--he had reacted instantly, instinctively, and converted potential power into dramatic, almost crushing force.

Kennedy and his advisers have long been preoccupied--in their thinking, their reading, their writing and talking--about the use of power. And there could be no doubt that Kennedy's power show against Big Steel was a popular triumph. Yankee Poet Robert Frost, 88, reflected the mood in praising his favorite Yankee politician.

"Oh,v cried Frost, "didn't he do a good one! Didn't he show the Irish all right?" Had Kennedy overcompensated for his Cuba power failure in his actions against Big Steel? Poets aside, there were many who thought so. Would he use his massive powers soon again? In the same way? With what limitations? Against any other domestic antagonist that tried to thwart his will? The prospect was somewhat frightening--and despite the popularity of Kennedy's victory, that prospect accounted for a great wave of disputation (see following story).

One thing was certain: Kennedy was a different President than he had been before. Some commentators thought that the steel action might not influence the November elections, but Kennedy had burned its lessons--about the economy and about himself--into the U.S. consciousness. Any future views about the President would inevitably be conditioned by that action.

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