Many of us who are old enough will remember the spell that President John F. Kennedy cast over a crowd of people. There is probably no better example than his speech to a crowd of 450,000 from the steps of the Rathaus Schöneberg in Berlin on June 26, 1963.
The Germans were excited for several reasons: 1) This was the first visit by an American president since the end of World War II. 2) Their one-time enemies had become the heroes of West Germany because of the Allies’ 1948-49 Berlin Airlift under the leadership of the wildly popular General Lucius Clay, thus saving two million Berliners from starvation and cold. 3) The communists had just erected the Berlin Wall, and now the survival of Berlin was once again in doubt. American support was key, and the Berliners hung on Kennedy’s every word.
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How did you feel to see a U.S. President who respected a European ally, cared about them, and offered a helping hand? A President who could craft and deliver a speech appealing to our higher angels — the Germans’ right to freedom and unity?
Three years earlier, I was an eye-witness to the special magic of then-Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. My friend, electrical engineering student Al Hoffman, and I drove to Philadelphia on October 29, 1960, to attend the Kennedy presidential rally in the suburb of Norristown, Pennsylvania about a week before Election Day. It was in a high school football stadium with a few short bleachers known as Roosevelt Field. A stage and speaker’s platform were waiting on the football field. The stadium was packed with people full of high energy and anticipation, mostly standing shoulder to shoulder, including Al and I. As the expected arrival time of the motorcade fell further and further behind, now 45 minutes late, the energy of the crowd kept increasing, with everyone pushing for a closer view of the stage.
The crowd let out a ROAR as suddenly at the end of the field the motorcade appeared, first the police motorcycles, and then a row of black limousines approached the stage.
Kennedy soon appeared on the stage, fiddling as usual with the buttons on his suit and smiling broadly, the whiteness of his teeth accented by a deeply tanned face. The crowd continued to jostle, packed tightly against one another. There were two women directly behind Al and myself, brunettes, probably in their 30’s.
Senator Kennedy was introduced by the Governor, and then began to speak these words:1
Governor Lawrence, the next Congressman from this District, Warren Ballard, ladies and gentlemen, Walter Frye, who is running for the assembly in this state — and we need good assemblymen, we need good state senators, we need good Congressmen, we need good United States Senators, and we need a President. (Loud applause) And that is why I am here today.
[I felt a woman from behind pressing against my body.]
I was informed when I started out this morning that we were going to travel in Delaware County which voted eight to one for Alf Landon. We are going to wipe that record out. (Applause).
[Now the woman was kind of swirling against me.]
No county in the United States should have that reputation. (Laughter). But this is the year for Delaware, Montgomery, Massachusetts, the United States to choose progress, to move forward, and I come here today and ask for your support. (Applause).
[She started softly moaning.]
Then Kennedy stated that the Democratic Party is in the best interests of the country and stands for its best interests. That the Democratic Party in 1960 seeks to serve the people, not just to please them, like Mr. Nixon.
[I caught a glimpse of her face—flushed, grimacing.]
Kennedy then went onto the problems that lie ahead in foreign policy, economic development, national defense against the Russians and Chinese.
[More grinding, more moaning.]
Finally Kennedy talked about his idea for a new Peace Corps. His final sentences:
The 1960’s will require more from each of us than we have given in the past. But as for me, I am confident that this country will meet challenges. I am confident that we will continue to be the great defender of freedom, and I am more confident than ever that freedom will prevail. Thank you. (Thunderous applause and whistling.)
Dr. Al Hoffman at his wedding in L.A., 1966
After the speech, as Al and I walked back to his car, I asked him, “Did you notice anything unusual going on with a woman behind us?” He answered without hesitation, “I saw it too. She was having an orgasm — never a doubt.”
Many U.S. presidents have come and gone since the 1960s, and some were said to have charisma. After what Al and I witnessed that day at the rally of JFK, all I would say to Mr. Reagan, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bush, Mr. Obama, and Mr. Trump is: EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT.
[1] Speech source: Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential Papers. Senate Files. Series 12. Speeches and the Press. Box 914, Folder: “Roosevelt Field, Norristown, Pennsylvania, 29 October 1960”.