___ A Thousand Days, by Arthur M.
4 Schlesinger Jr. A chronicle of the
hite House tenure of John Fitz-
' 8erald Kennedy, written by one of
his closest assistants. Available
_ Upon request at Co-op Book Store,
841 W. Pender St., Vancouver.
Price $10.50. é

n the light of the military

: invasion of Vietnam by the
Johnson Administration, it is of
Significance to read, when there
“Were only 16,000 Americans in
_ that small heroic country, that
; the late President Kennedy “no
doubt realized that Vietnam was
his great failure in foreign pol-
icy,”

am

This statement is from. the

latest Kennedy biography, A
Thousand Days, wae

Of the 36 American Presidents,
few have been really statesmen
Of stature, It seems to me that
Kennedy may be the first to fit

t category since Franklin D.
‘Oosevelt, :

* * *

Kennedy the man is portrayed

in his cultural interests, his
_ Choice of friendsand co-workers,
- 4nd his overcoming of physical

disability and breaking down the
walls of the white Anglo-Saxon
Protestant Establishment.

Kennedy the politician resorts
to any and all means to climb
the ladder of political success
to the Presidency. In the course
of this, you see, especially within
the political structure of the U.S.,
the many concessions he must
make; but also his alertness
to make changes which are po-

litically imperative.

The need for concessions is
vividly outlined in the choice of
the Vice- Presidential candidate
peing determined by “a group of
party professionals,” irrespec-
tive of Kennedy’s own desires;
his being «prepared to pay the

price” the Joint Chiefs of Staff

demanded for not opposing the
partial test ban .treaty (their

price was the continuation of

underground testing).

* * *

His alertness to dramatizing ~

essential change is reflected dur-
ing the inaugural parade when
he saw “there were no Negroes
in the Coast Guard contingent”
and on investigation found the

‘ and domestic policy,

‘Above all else...

a political realist’

Academy “had no Negro stu-
dents,” a condition he ordered
changed forthwith,

Kennedy the leader of the Am-
erican nation demonstrated in
many ways, however confused and
hesitatingly, his understanding
that there was a new relation-
ship of forces in the world,

In one speech he said: ‘The
United States is neither omnipo-
tent nor omniscient . . . and
cannot impose our will upon the
other 94 percent of mankind.”

Schlesinger says Kennedy dis-
liked the Dulles phrase of the
“Free World,” and writes: “Ken-
nedy approached the Soviet Union
without illusions . .. but also
with considerable weariness over
the rhetoric of the cold war.”

It must never be forgotten
that his dynamic, youthful andnew
approach was aimed at preserv-
ing the influence of U.S, imperial-
ism in a changing world,

That was true of both foreign
Domesti-

cally, he saw “racial discrimina-
tion” as ‘‘hampering our econom-
ic growth and our world leader-
ship,” while to the young people
“he made his most penetrating
appeal” and saw them as “most
free of the legacies of historic
controversy.”

* * *

Schlesinger goes on to write
concerning young America:
“Some of the energy Kennedy
released moved rather quickly
beyond him and against him,
subjecting his Administration to
unsparing, often deeply emotional
criticism, but it was nonetheless
he who had struck off the man-
acles of the silent generation.”

Whether the policy of the U.S,
would have been different if Ken-
nedy. had not been assassinated
in Dallas no one can say.

But we do know that he not
only won the battle for Senate
ratification of the partial test
ban treaty, but also told Amer-
ica: “J also believe that we
must re-examine our own atti-
tude” to the cold war “for our

attitude is as essential’? as the
Soviet Union’s,

What stands out is Kennedy’s
realism in political strategy and
tactics. Always the spokesman
for U.S, imperialism, he saidtwo
months before his death: “The
competition with Communism_
would dominate the rest of our
lives, but we must not let it be-
come a competition in nuclear
violence.”

While ready to recognize and
politically legalize the status quo
between the Socialist and capital-
ist sectors of the world, he
wanted to prevent the “political
and institutional change’’ in other
countries, which he alleged he
recognized “to be inevitable,”
from “transferring power from
one bloc to the other,”

That is the explanation of the
frenzy and alarm when the people
of Cuba, Vietnam, the Dominican
Republic and elsewhere, are
determined to throw off the yoke
of U.S. imperialism and their own
oppressors and choose their own
‘tway of life,” :

—John Williamson
(Br. Daily Worker)

Griffin is best bet for night owls

A review of the relative merits of
pie Johnny Carson and Merv
3 pmifin shows. On the Lower Main-
_ ‘and, Carson can be seen on
_ Channel 5 (Seattle) and Griffin on
Channel 12 (Bellingham).

& hat is now left for us in-
& somniacs, aside from the
Westion of TV or not TV, is
Whether to watch Johnny Carson
(NBc) or Merv Griffin (CBS).

__ Carson, who inherited Jack

_ Paar’s uncomfortable late-night

_ Stint, is a boyish man who used
to be an inventive comedian — a
Teal talent,

Somewhere in his career he had
to choose between creativity and
Solvency, and took the latter.
His job now is to be impishly
Tisque between commercials,

Indeed, there is a plethora of
_ Commercials, it being late at
‘Right and not subject to the FCC

Tulings regarding prime-time
_ Viewing hours (7:30 to 11 p.m.).

i His guests are mostly stage
ete at least they don’t get

talk about much of anything.”

Of late, however, some guests
have been allowed to speak out —
in favor of national defence (the
Vietnam war) and against demon-
strations,

Griffin, on the other hand, is
in the enviable position of being
his own producer (he can manage
this because he owns some day-
time. game shows). >

He is also a talented man at

the piano and as a ballad singer.

He is virtually unburdened by
commercials, so the people heis
interviewing have a chance to get
out several mouthfuls and be
rather revealing about them-
selves,

This has been particularly wel-
come in the instances of Pernell
Roberts (speaking out for civil
rights and against the Vietnam
war, remaining in the face of
self-righteous opposition four-
quare in favor of demonstrations)
as well as Dick Gregory, Nor-
man Thomas and Alexander

Kerensky,.

i

Griffin also introduces new
talents frequently, has filmed

interviews with fascinating peo-
ple (Bertrand Russell, Marcello
Mastroiani, John Lennon, who
kept interviewing Griffin with
«What are you doing about civil
rights?) and in general is more
than willing to experiment with

jdeas and forms (young actors
have performed very successful
improvisations on the show),

_ And while he does not involve
himself, he not only allows but
encourages others to become em-
broiled in relevant topical dis-
cussions, He seems to have hit
upon a happy middle-ground
formula and has come up with a
show that is both entertaining
and informative,

As for old movies, I object in
principle to the use of tele-
vision as a home movie screen,

Just as a photograph should
not substitute for a painting, and
vice versa, television and movies
should be separate in their to-
getherness,

However, I am not opposed to
movies on television in fact, for
the practice does afford people
the opportunity to see, on rare
occasions, fine films they might
otherwise miss.

Sadly, the better films are not
usually on the late-late shows,
The premise is obviously that
anyone who stays up to watch TV
at those hours is either a ding-
a-ling or groggy or both, and
won’t care what is on as long as

it makes companionable noises,

So unless you’re a ‘*Hercules”
fan, or dig old Pat O’Brien flicks,
Griffin’s show is the best bet,
Until he gets to be too popular,
Then there will be more com-
mercials and less content, Then
Griffin will have to choose be-
tween creativity and solvency,
Then...

—Ann Leslie
(People’s World)

Film on Joe Hill coming

timulating news from Holly-
wood — they’re going to make
a film about Joe Hill, Earl
Robinson is to be musical direc-

tor, and will sing his immortal:

Joe Hillballad, Location shooting
is scheduled for the spring.

Just what they will make ofthe

life of this great labor here re-°

mains to be seen, It could be
a terrific letdown. Or it could
be one of those magnificent hum-
anist productions with which

Hollywood sometimes startles
us, ;

Quite a lot depends on who is
chosen to play Joe Hill, Pro-
ducer Laurance Howard is in-
viting the public to cast its vote
for one of the following rather
strange assortment of actors:

Marlon Brando, Kirk Dougias,
Charlton Heston, Burt Lan-
caster, Peter O’Toole, Elvis
Presley, Steve McQueen, Anthony
Quinn, Frank Sinatra or Max von
Sydow, (Our vote goes to Anthony
Quinn.)

January 14, 1966—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 9