The Presidency: Not Necessary, but Nice

Before President Kennedy took off on his trip to Europe, many a voice at home and abroad was raised in an old question with new overtones: Is this trip necessary? The impetus for the journey came from a January invitation from Italy's Premier Amintore Fanfani, but Fanfani's government had since fallen, and the President would be visiting an Italy in political turmoil. In West Germany he would be calling on a lame-duck Chancellor; in Britain his host would be the unhappy head of a scandal-rocked Tory government. There were problems at home that needed the President's attention. But by...

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