On paper, it looked like the perfect way to put Republicans on the spot in an election year. But last week, put into practice, the scheme blew up in the Kennedy Administration's face.
At issue was the President's proposal to create a new, Cabinet-level Department of Urban Affairs, with Federal Housing Administrator Robert C. Weaver, a Negro, at its head. Republican Senators and Congressmen opposed the idea of the department on grounds that it would merely add another cumbersome, costly layer to the federal bureaucracy. Southern Democrats inevitably were hostile to Weaver's appointment.
Rubbing It In. Faced with all but certain Capitol...
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