The Campaign Spell

In a room in Portland's Lafayette Hotel, Candidate John Kennedy dined quietly, then hurried down to the street below. The chemistry of the evening had touched and stimulated him, and he was anxious to get back among the crowds that filled the streets. As his motorcade started for the Portland stadium, the mood heightened. There was a tang of September in the Maine air. The low hum of excited people rose from the four-deep throngs along his route, burst into cheering as Jack Kennedy passed by. The glow of old-fashioned torches, hand-crayoned signs (I'D WALK A MILE FOR JACK) and chants from the youngsters ("Never fear, Jack is here") gave the first stop in his postcongressional campaign a feeling of a long-ago political rally.

Giant's Promise. At the stadium,putting his prepared text aside, Kennedy delivered what reporters agreed was one of his finest political speeches. He spoke of the perils and problems confronting the U.S. "I don't run for the office of the President to tell you what you want to hear. I run for the office of the presidency because in a dangerous time we need to be told what we must do if we are going to maintain our freedom and the freedom of those who depend upon us." Then Kennedy hit his campaign theme of work and sacrifice to make the U.S. future secure. "What shall we do in this country?" he asked. "What shall we do around the world to reverse the trend of history, to take those actions here in this country and throughout the globe that shall make people feel that in the year of 1961 the American giant began to stir again, the great American boiler began to fire up again, this country began to move ahead again?" Jack Kennedy gave no real answer to his own questions; but the crowd was with him as he continued:

"This is not a contest merely between the Vice President and myself. This is a contest between all of us who believe that the future belongs to the United States—all of the men and women of talent and industry and interest and vitality who wish to serve this country, who wish to play a part in its life. I ask the support of all of those who believe that this country can lead the world."