CONVENTION '96: JACK BE NIMBLE

CONFIDENT, IMPULSIVE, SELF-RIGHTEOUS, KEMP HAS A LONG HISTORY OF CALLING HIS OWN PLAYS

Jack French Kemp wears the monogram JFK discreetly sewn onto the cuffs of his starched, high-collared shirts. His steel-gray hair looks just like the other J.F.K.'s might have, had he lived to old age, or even Kemp's 61. But in crafting his own political persona, Jack Kemp, a self-described "bleeding-heart conservative," superimposed the ideas of another political model on the style of John F. Kennedy. Kemp melded Ronald Reagan's sunny supply-side philosophy and belief in the power of free markets with Kennedy's youthful vigor and populist-patrician manner to create a new kind of Republican. Now Bob Dole is hoping that Kemp's...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!