erica. Both father Joe and son Jack knew that it would take some behind-the-scenes string pulling if JFK were to become the first Catholic President.
In 1956, Kennedy made an unsuccessful bid for the Vice Presidential nomination. This was a momentary setback for him, as soon after this defeat he began planning for the 1960 Presidential race. There was a certain confidence that JFK had as he started the primary race and won seven key battles. "I think I've got it, but I can't make a single mistake" (159). JFK ended his formative years when he prevailed over Richard M. Nixon that fall, and the narrow victory is questioned by some who point to a voting fraud in Mayor Richard Daley's Chicago precincts. But JFK entered office as the first Roman Catholic and also the second youngest man ever to hold the oval office.
In the transition from the formative years to the Presidential years, JFK dubbed his administration the New Frontier, calling for increased federal involvement in civil rights, education, medicine, urban renewal, and medical insurance.
The election of JFK has already been shown to be a family affair in relation to JFK's father Joe. But it is an important fact that JFK's brother Robert Kennedy (RFK) was his campaign manager, and that after JFK took office he appointed his brother the Attorney General. Robert was well known for both his adoration of his older brother and (like Joe) his deep-seated rivalry and competitiveness.
A good example of how the Kennedys stayed together was in Joe's insistence that JFK should be known as a scholar and an intellectual as well as a politician. And so he suggested that JFK write a book on America's g
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