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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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The California delegation split between Kennedy and Stevenson and there was a little Johnson support, I think, but the Lawfords were on the delegation, and so was Edward Lasker, and he was one of the Stevenson supporters and there were a number of Stevenson supporters on the California delegation.

Well, I stayed at the NBC offices until midnight and circulated on the floor because it was extremely interesting to see what was happening. The confusion and excitement were terribly interesting, and it was very colorful and picturesque, bizarrely lit. People were wearing strange costumes. I remember seeing Stuart Udall in a cowboy hat, not recognizing him. I asked him whether he wouldn't be for Stevenson; he said no, he'd been committed to Kennedy for a long time.

On Thursday, early in the morning, Bill Blair called up and said that he had heard that Johnson was going to accept the nomination for Vice President. I said, “I don't believe you. I'd believe you about anything, but this just isn't possible. I've never seen such a display of hostility that Johnson showed on TV towards Kennedy, and this just is not possible.” He said, “It's true.”

Well, I recall then lunching with John Fogarty and, by chance, David Sarnoff, and I went to the convention, joined Jean Kintner in the NBC office, and we heard that Lyndon was to come to the Convention Hall about 6 o'clock to accept the nomination. Now, both Jean and I were friends of Lyndon and Lady Bird, so we decided to go to the entrance where he would come into the hall, to join him and to say hello to him and Lady Bird. We stood





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