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returned. And naturally the whole thing about the commission evaporated for a few days.

On the 23rd of November, I telephoned to Senator Humphrey, who was a great friends of mine and has been for a long time, as I supported him when he was Mayor of Minneapolish and in his first try for the Senate. I had always been friendly with him and he with me. I called him to say that I wanted to suggest that the National Cultural Center be renamed the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and that the Congress give the money for the building of it promptly, and would he see that something was done about it on the floor. Humphrey said he would. “Well, you take it up with Johnson right away,” I said. He said, “I will.” This was on Saturday, the 23rd. I also said, “How is he? Have you seen him?” He said, “Yes, I've seen himand he's wonderful, and he said to me, ‘Hubert, go to your office and call up all of our friends. Let them know that we need their help.’” So Hubert said, “I'm so glad to be talking to you.”

That evening Johnson called me. It must have been a series of several hundred calls that he made saying, “I want your support. I need your help.” Now, there's nothing more touching than the President of the United States saying this to an innocent citizen who is sitting at home, because there's nothing that anybody can think of as being more beguiling. Everybody wants to think he can help somebody and, naturally, they're flattered if the President says this to them. Well, the President is extremely aware of this, and he solicits help from all sides, and he will undoubtedly get it. I'm sure he called up hundreds