His back still aches, and he persists in that rocking chair. His national popularity has been slipping—from a Gallup poll peak of 83% two years ago to 64% last month. Like any U.S. President, he has problems, both domestic and foreign, in plenty. Yet, as have few Presidents before him, John Fitzgerald Kennedy has managed to "project his image"—and upon no place more than on his city of temporary residence: Washington, D.C.
Just 29 months into his presidency, Kennedy sets the style, tastes and temper of Washington more surely than Franklin Roosevelt did in twelve years,
Dwight Eisenhower in eight, Harry Truman in seven. A politician's politician in a city that loves and lives politics, Kennedy is slavishly followed —and more than slightly feared. Last week, as he turned 46, Washington itself was acting his age.
Kennedy represents the coming to power of a new generation, one that was blooded in World War II. A pragmatic generation, it cares more for results than philosophies. Most New Frontiersmen are of this generation, and they follow in their leader's image. President Kennedy, discussing the sort of men he wants around him, recently said: "There's nothing like brains. You can't beat brains." New Frontiersmen may not all have the best brains in the world —but they put up a mighty good show. They can reel off facts and figures about complex issues without ever consulting a note. They approach their jobs with a youthful zest that is almost gung-ho. They love to talk of their official travels, always by jet and generally to some far-off land. They may make mistakes—but they make them efficiently.
In their intense preoccupation, they sometimes seem almost too close to their jobs. Not so long ago, the abiding subject of conversation in Washington's political circles was the desires and problems of the folks back home. But no longer. To the New Frontiersmen, although they are concerned about problems everywhere, everything of final importance happens in Washington. What they talk about is Washington and the White House, and the result is a curious quality of intellectual inbreeding. Sometimes they almost sound as though they had invented the town.
Kennedy's impact on Washington is seen in countless ways. Cigar sales have soared (Jack smokes them). Hat sales have fallen (Jack does not wear them). Bureaucrats show up at work in dark suits, well-shined shoes, avoid button-down shirts (Jack says they are out of style). The more eager New Frontiersmen secure their striped ties with PT-boat clasps—and seem not the least bit embarrassed. The most popular restaurants in Washington are Le Bistro and the Jockey Club, which serve the light Continental foods that Jackie Kennedy features on the White House menu. The less palatable Colony restaurant, tops during the Republican Eisenhower Administration, went broke and has closed.