ABSTRACT
John F. Kennedy had tried to woo Walter Lippmann, but the columnist remained evasive and skeptical. Lippmann thought Kennedy talented, but a bit ruthless and too much in a hurry. He hoped that Kennedy would settle for the vice-presidential slot under Stevenson or Humphrey before making the race on his own. This would lessen qualms about Kennedy's Catholicism. Lippmann's accolades notwithstanding, Kennedy barely squeezed through to victory in November, racking up a margin of only 114,000 votes out of 68,000,000 cast. But it was enough. Lippmann became one of the shining ornaments of the Kennedy administration. Lippmann shared the exhilaration that many others felt when the Kennedy team — so eager, bright, and full of ideas — assumed power. Lippmann's close relations with the New Frontier gave him an inside track on its policies and made him a valuable interpreter to those on the outside. Unlike Kennedy and his entourage, Lippmann had no particular animosity toward the Cuban revolution.
