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magic moment in American history. Which, of course, is a misreading of history. The magic Camelot of John F. Kennedy never existed. The knights of his round table were able, tough, ambitious men, capable of kindness, also capable of error. Of them all, Kennedy was the toughest, the most intelligent, the most attractive—and inside, the least romantic. He was a realistic dealer in men, a master of games who understood the importance of ideas. He advanced the cause of America, at home and abroad. But he also posed for the first time the great question of the '60s and '70s: What kind of people are we Americans? What do we want to become?
For 25 years, I had been fascinated by the relationship of the Leader to Power, of the State to Force, of the Concept to Politics—and most recently of the Hero to his Circumstances. I would never again, after Kennedy, see any man as a hero.
