JFK Dinner Party

Did you ever record your own family while they sat down to dinner to eat? It was kind of a thing in the 1970s. It was also kind of a thing back in the 1960s as well. But, in this case, this wasn't an ordinary family dinner. 

That's because this dinner was held at then Senator John F. Kennedy's house in Washington, DC. The occasion for this January 5, 1960 dinner? A sort of celebration and look forward to the 1960 presidential campaign, for which JFK had just declared himself a candidate.

In addition to the Kennedys, the party featured Washington Post honco Ben Bradlee, his wife Toni Bradlee and James Cannon, a reporter for Newsweek magazine. 

Luckily for history (and This is the President), Cannon brought along a portable tape recorder and recorded the dinner conversation for posterity. There's a few interesting tidbits here, including Kennedy's take on his role in politics and a denial of having Addison's Disease (which he did, in fact, have). 

In addition, of course, there's lots of other goodness from Scott and Harmon, including their takes on the Korea talks, the Royal Marriage Conspiracy and the Oldest Pub in London.