JFK’s Gum, RN’s Green

October 3, 2008 by John H. Taylor | Filed Under History, News media, Richard Nixon 

After 50 years covering politics for Hearst Newspapers, Marianne Means says goodbye. Savor the breezy style of this farewell column. They don’t make many newspaper people such as she anymore. A couple of ‘60 tidbits:

As a Phi Beta Kappa student at the University of Nebraska, I had met Kennedy while working on a crusade to get him to visit the campus. When he arrived at NU, I got to drive him around and meet his speechwriter Ted Sorensen, whose younger sibling was my Tri Delta sorority sister. Kennedy’s secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, was another Nebraska native. I don’t remember many details of this historic event, except that Sorensen growled to Kennedy, “Presidential candidates don’t chew gum” as we approached the speech site. Out went the gum.

In 1960, the betting in the press corps was that the more experienced Vice President Richard Nixon would win. On the way back after their biggest debate, the press bus (including me) voted overwhelmingly that Nixon had won that encounter, although at home voters looking at the event saw a sweaty, even greenish-colored Nixon compared to a fresh, handsome rival.

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