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didn't want them. But, he said, “Why don't you talk to my friend here? He probably would be interested in it.” It turned out it was Jack Kennedy sitting there. By that time I had gotten close enough to see who it was. So, Senator Kennedy said -- I told him I was trying to get this temporary resolution passed, and in lining up votes they said, “How do you know the candidates will want to debate?,” and I said I thought the best thing to do was to talk to the prospective candidates and see. “Would you?” He smiled and said, “Oh, yes, I would.” Johnson made some rude remark, and I got the hell out.

Later (and this I don't think we've touched on), when Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson's staff had called me for a lot of help on television coverage, things of that kind, and I had offered some advice about how I thought television should be used that weekend, as far as the White House was concerned. Did I talk about that?

Briefly, but not much.

Well, at any rate, on the Monday of the funeral, Walter Jenkins, who was then Johnson's chief of staff at the Hill, or as Vice-President, had asked me to come down. So, I was at the Mayflower that night, and Johnson or somebody called from his office, he came on the phone and said, “Bird and I are going to have some friends in for dinner. Why don't you join us? Where are you?” I said, “I'm over at the Mayflower.” He said, “I'll send a car for you, come on out and join us.” I said, “I really ought to get home.” He said, “I'll call Ruth and take care of that,” and he did. He was very good about things like that. He said, “Be at the side door, and the car will be there.”

So, I went down to the side door, and in a few minutes I heard sirens and I saw flashing