Politics: The Look of 72?

As Republican Mayor John Lindsay and Democratic Senator Robert Kennedy chatted together last week in front of New York City's Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence, it took only a flicker of fantasy to imagine that they were standing in the White House portico, circa 1972. It was almost a case of take-your-pick. Dressed alike in dark suits and rep ties—only the breastpocket handkerchief set Harvardman Kennedy apart from Yaleman Lindsay—both exuded all the youth, intelligence and patrician good looks a voter could hope for. Though mere commoners in their respective parties, the mayor and the Senator each had...