"NARRATOR:" "Previously on The Kennedys." "That Jack is quite delightful." "It's Joe who's going places." "I love you, Son." "I need to get out there and I need to do something that matters." "His PT boat was rammed by a Japanese destroyer." "Your son and the rest of his crew are unaccounted for." " His getting decorated only helps this family." " It doesn't help me!" "Everything is part of God's plan." "Part of God's plan to let Joe die?" "It's up to you now, Jack." "To do what?" "Carry on for your brother." "Well, no, that's just it." "That's why I said I want precinct captains to call in every half hour." "Of course, they can reverse the charges." "Yeah, all right." "Right." "All right, bye." "Yeah, polls have been open in the West for an hour." "When we get back from voting, I want to talk to you about some cabinet choices." "No, no, that's for your transition team." "After today I'm retired." " I just want to know who's on your mind." " Fine." "I'm ready." "See, now that, that's perfect for today." "You look great in that colour." "Thank you." "Put yourself down for Secretary of Wardrobe." "Hmm?" " Let's go vote for President." " Fine." "NEWSCASTER ON TV:" "Vice President Nixon and his wife, Pat, voted in the playroom of a private home in Whittier, California, the Los Angeles suburb where Mr Nixon grew up." "Mr Nixon's running mate on the GOP ticket, Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, was almost totally overshadowed on election day, by the popular concentration on the principles." "JACK:" "Oh, it's my back." "JACKIE:" "You want a pill?" "Are you okay?" "No, no, I'm loaded up on this procaine." " Oh, Jack." " Careful, the hair." "Life magazine says women like you unkempt." "Is that true?" "No, we need men, older men, and they prefer their presidents kempt." "(SIGHS)" "What?" "This President, unbelievable." "Why are we running in Charlestown?" "I mean, I've never even been here." "We should be in Back Bay or Beacon Hill." "People I have something in common with." "They'd never elect a Catholic in Back Bay." "Charlestown's full of them, second-generation micks with calluses on their hands." "I suppose I should mention my calluses are from trimming sails." "(LAUGHS)" "(CAR HORN HONKING)" "Thanks, Patty, spread it around." "Be right down." " This is where you grew up." " Hmm." "Hellhole even then." "Believe me, the only good thing about starting at the bottom is you sure as hell know where you don't want to end up." "Your ears, Mr Charlestown." "Good to see you again, Mr Ambassador." " Hi, Jimmy." " And this is the candidate." "I'm Jimmy Ryan, Jack." "Jimmy knows Charlestown inside out." "You're a good-looking kid." "We have a problem of perception." "As far as people are concerned, Jack is a rich man's son who's out of touch with the people who live on these streets." "Of course, we do have some things going for us." " Jack's a war hero." " It was accidental." "They sank my boat." "A modest hero with a sense of humour." "That's grand!" "Saved his entire crew." "Swam three miles through shark-infested waters towing a fellow with the string of his life jacket in his teeth." " There were no sharks." " There are now." "All right, Jimmy, a warm stove in every apartment, a beer in every icebox, if a bum needs a drink, if a stiff needs a wake." "And let me know when that's gone." " What?" " Charlestown may be shanty, but it knows when it's being sold a bill of goods." "We'll be running against fellows who were born and raised here and they live to campaign." "It's in their blood." "Now, I can show Jack the ropes, teach him how to drink whisky, slap backs and kiss babies, but if he doesn't really want to do this, the campaign's doomed before it begins." "Show him the ropes." "No one gets elected in Charlestown unless the longshoremen give them their blessing." "I thought that's what priests were for." "Look, will you do me a favour?" "Don't mention that you never worked a day in your life." "Timmy Dolan." "Say hello to Jack Kennedy." "Max O'Hara!" "Come here, meet your next congressman." "Thank you very much." "Hi there." "How are you?" "I'm Jack." "I hope you make it to the polls this year." "(ALL CHATTERING)" "Hi, Jack Kennedy." "Ladies, you coming down here or what?" "This where all the action is." "Tomorrow's Feast of the Assumption." "Jack should go to Mass in St Bernadine's and glad-hand the wives and mothers." "Tomorrow night there's a wake for Dan Murphy's uncle Pat." "Jack needs to pay his respects." " I didn't even know the guy." " Doesn't matter." "Pat was beloved." " I actually have a date tomorrow night." " Send her over to me." "You're going to the wake." "(FAN FARE PLAYING)" " What the hell is that?" " Joseph Russo." "I never heard of him." "It doesn't matter." "Every Italian in this district has, and that's a substantial amount of votes." "Enough to win?" "Enough to hurt us." "And that is, uh, one of the reasons why I chose to run in this, uh, campaign, uh, to begin with." "Having won the, uh, war, we must now win the peace." "(STAMMERS)" "I don't believe that opportunity is a, uh, privilege." "I believe that's it a right." "And people of Charlestown here, uh, they'll tell you, they want less jobs." "(STAMMERS)" "They want more jobs is what they want, and the fact of the matter is that opportunity is, um, is what people in this area are..." "We need new speech writers." "...not bureaucratic, uh, red tape." "It's not what he's saying, it's how he's saying it." "Like English wasn't his mother tongue." "We've, uh..." "We've got to find opportunities and try to, uh, work on that rather than, uh, missing, uh, the areas that we are missing in." "I can't do this!" "You want me to be Joe and I'm not." "Well, that's obvious." "Well, then save your money, for Christ's sake." "End it right now." " I can't win." " Yes, you can." "Your name is Kennedy, and Kennedys never come second, ever." "I've been listening to this since I was four." "Well, you can listen to it some more till it sinks in." " Well, there's no ambiguity in him." " It's exhausting." " What do you wanna do?" " What do I wanna do?" "I wanna go to Harvard and teach history and chase girls." "I'm not running against Russo and the others, I'm running against a ghost." "I don't envy you, lad." "RYAN:" "Gentlemen." " Sorry I'm late." "Use these." " What?" "What for?" " You're a war hero, look like one." " No." "And now it's my great pleasure to introduce to you a young man..." "Gold Star Mothers, Jack." "Every one of them lost a son in the war." "They'll be looking at you, but they'll be seeing them." "WOMAN:" "Mr Jack Kennedy." "(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)" "Um, having won the war, we must now win the peace." "Prosperity is a, uh, privilege." "Um..." "Not only a privilege, but also a right." "And I believe as a congressmen, these are the sorts of organisations" "I would very much like to help." "And if I have the honour in representing you in Congress" "I can tell you right now that that'll be, uh, something that we will, um, work to, uh, to further." "And we can, we can help organisations like this and I can do that for all of you." "I can do that, uh, by, uh, various tax incentives." "Um, we can... (SOBBING)" "I, uh, I think I know how, uh, many of you feel." "My, uh..." "My mother is a part of this organisation, she's a Gold Star Mother as well." "Our house is filled with many memories, just like yours." "We, uh, we see my brother, we see his smile everywhere, and my mother cries for him." "And there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think of Joe." "He'll always be with us, the same way that your sons will always be with you." "I would say that this is exactly the sort of organisation that we're gonna support." "This is the sort of organisation that needs our help and we're gonna give it to them." "This is the sort of organisation that I believe in." "Let me represent this district in Congress and I will serve your interests." "I appreciate that." "Thank you so much." "Thank you." "This is my son, he was lost at sea." "They liked him." "That's 'cause he spoke from the heart, that's what it's all about." "So what do you think Jimmy?" "I think we turned a corner tonight." "I think we're going make it." " We're gonna try." " What do you mean, "try"?" "I'm still worried about Russo." "We're behind in his district." "Well, what are we doing about it?" "You think I should throw more money at it?" "Money is not the problem." "Neither is organisation." "We got more volunteers than anyone, we got the Kennedy razzle-dazzle, but we're Irish and Russo's Italian, and there's nothing we can do about that." "MAN 1:" "Mr Kennedy." "Hi, Jimmy, how are you?" "(REPORTERS CLAMOURING)" "MAN 2:" "Over here, Mr Kennedy." "Mr Russo, let's get a shot of the new candidates." "Come on, Mr Kennedy." "Shake hands and smile." "Here we go." "It was a lousy trick, Jack." " What are you talking about?" " Like you don't know." "I'd like to know why there is a second Joseph Russo on the ballot." "I put him there." " Who the hell is he?" " He's a plumber who works up the street." "He doesn't speak any English, does he, Jimmy?" "No, sir, he doesn't." "You put him there to confuse people?" "I put him on the ballot to split the Italian vote." "There's nothing illegal about it, Jack." "It's the way the game's played around here." "(ALL CHEERING)" "MAN:" "Quiet, quiet, quiet, everybody." "Quiet down." "To the next congressman from Charlestown, Jack Kennedy!" "CROWD: (CHANTING) Kennedy!" "Kennedy!" "Kennedy!" "So the projections are looking good in North Carolina, just not so hot in West Virginia." "I knew that would be tough." "Too many Baptists." "I think we're going win this thing, Dad." "But when we do, Jack's going to need some serious guys to help him run this country." "All he knows is politicians, up to the present time." "I have a list of names." "SECRETARY:" "Mr Ambassador, Sinatra called again." "It's the third time." "He's upset because I pulled Sammy Davis from his TV show." "Why would you do that?" "He helps us with the Negro vote" " as well as the Jewish vote." " He's black and his wife is white." "Every time the two show their faces, we lose a precinct in Alabama." "Am I the only one who understands politics around here?" "Yeah, you're the only one, Dad." "The only one." "(LAUGHS)" "I don't particularly care what happens, really." " I mean, after today, I'm done." " Don't let him get to you." "Yeah, I know." "I'm just tired of it." "It seems like everything I do is wrong." "He's just on edge." "He's been waiting 50 years for this day." "By tomorrow, he'll be telling the world what a genius you are." "No, no, it's quite clear in his mind I'm an idiot and he did it all himself." "Come on." " Oh, well." "Just one more day." " Yeah, and then what?" "It's just Bobby and Ethel." "Two ordinary people living ordinary lives." " It's what you wanted, isn't it?" " I want whatever makes you happy." "Go long." "Oh!" "Come on, Kennedy!" "You got hands like bricks!" "Henry Cabot Lodge and I have had the opportunity of serving with President Eisenhower..." "Hell, I don't think I'd buy a used car from that man." "Would you, Mike?" "Huh?" "Who'd you vote for, Senator?" "Me?" "Well, I'm a, uh..." "I'm a strict party guy, so..." "Senator?" "I've been putting together some clippings in case your wife might want them." "Mmm-hmm." "You know, mementoes from the election." " They're from all over the country." " Well, that's very nice of you, thank you." "If there is anything else you need, I am happy to do anything." " Thank you." " Cynthia." " Cynthia." " (GIGGLES)" " Are you okay?" "What are you doing?" " We're having a conversation." "Just talking." "(STAMMERING) I think it would be much safer if you just talked to me." " I'm right here." "Talk to me." " Okay." "(CHATTERING)" " Mike, have you seen my husband?" " Yes, he's in the war room." "Looks like he's going to win New York." "NEWSCASTER ON TV:" "With the state of New York now securely in Senator Kennedy's column and the best..." " How's it going?" " Thank you." "I think it's going really well." "...hope that some interest is now turning to the industrial states of the Midwest." "You know, I just realised that in a couple of hours, the polls are gonna close on the West Coast and nothing left to do but watch TV." "There's nothing good on tonight, anyway." "(LAUGHS)" "So, what happens tomorrow?" "I don't know?" "Haven't you heard?" "I'm officially out of politics." " Have you told your father yet?" " No, I think you should do it." "(LAUGHING) I don't think so." "What if he doesn't approve?" "Well, I do have seven children of my own." "I think I'm allowed to make my own decisions now." "Yes." "Yes, you are." "Hey you, kid." "I've been looking for you." "Bobby says everything is going real well." "Great." "What's all this?" " Thank you cards for the campaign workers." " Hmm." "(LAUGHING) Boy." "This has been the most exciting day of my life." "I don't know how you're not bursting!" "I rarely burst, Ethel." "Jackie, you are going to be the First Lady of the United States." "I can hardly think about it." "It's all so unreal." "Oh, come on." "Tell me you didn't know this was going to happen the first time you met Jack." "It only occurred to me the first time I met Joe." " MAN:" "The East Coast results are coming in." " (LAUGHS)" "I'm gonna go watch the returns." "Are you coming?" "I'll be there in a minute." "(SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)" "Jack, can I pull you away for a moment?" "There's someone I'd like you to meet, right over there." "Jackie?" "Excuse me." "Charlie, how are you?" " Good to see you." " Good to see you." "Jacqueline Bouvier, Congressman Jack Kennedy." "Hi." "CHARLIE:" "Jackie is the roving photographer for the Times-Herald." "Before that she worked in the Paris office of Vogue." "And Jack..." "Needs no introduction." " Well, I've, uh, I've read your column." " I've read your speeches." "Oh, you've read the Congressional Record." "For Christ's sake it's the dullest thing on paper." "Well, that's the challenge, trying to find signs of intelligent life." "MAN:" "Jackie." "So, uh, what do you do when you're not, uh, photographing?" " I ride horses." " Oh." "And what do you do when you're not congressing?" "Or cutting a swath through Washington's women?" " You have quite a reputation." " It's not true." " If half of it were, I'd be dead by now." " Or cast in bronze." "I sail." "I go up to the Cape." "My stepfather has a summer home in Newport." " Yeah, I like the winters up there." " For sailing or swathing." "No, really." "You get those 10-foot swells, and that spray against your face." "It's like needles of ice." " You should have been a writer." " Well, that was the plan at one time." " Very nice meeting you." " You, too." "Congratulations, you hooked him." " Trust me, I could see it from the bar." " But he's not interested." "Did he proposition you?" "Then he's interested." "JANET:" "How was your ride?" "Wonderful." "You should have come along, Mother." "I have to go." "Jack's taking me to dinner." "Join me for one drink." "You're kidding yourself if you think this is going somewhere." "Jack Kennedy can have any woman he wants." "Well, he wants me." "Then he must not mind big shoulders, tiny breasts, feet the size of..." " Just stop it." " I'm just trying to protect you." "Well, don't." "He's asked me to marry him." "(SCOFFS)" "(LAUGHS)" "I hope you haven't said yes." "Joe Kennedy raised his sons to take what they want and discard what they want with not a flicker of concern for anyone else." " Well, that's not Jack." " Don't delude yourself, darling." "He'll never be faithful." "Not for a single day." " He's just like his father." "Just like your father." " Why can't you just be happy for me?" "Because you're a silly little girl and you're infatuated with a public man" " who will hurt you every chance he gets." " He loves me and I love him." "It's an emotion you can't understand." "Well, then, marry him and good luck to both of you." "JACK:" "Well, I don't know why you let her get to you like this?" "She's never approved of anything you've done." "This is your decision." "Right, Jackie?" "Are you having second thoughts?" "Are you sure marriage is what you really want?" "I am." "Are you sure I'm who you want?" "Yes." "I love you." "I'll take care of you the rest of my life." "Will you let me do that?" "(LAUGHING) Yes." "MAN:" "I've got him on the line right now." "Thank you." "Mother, I just heard we're going to take Virginia." " That's wonderful, Bobby." " Congratulations." "ROSE:" "Michelle's made tea, would you like some?" " No, no." "I'm fine thank you." "Where's Dad?" " In his office." "You must be very proud of Bobby." "I'm proud of all my children, clear, but he is a little special to me." "And why is that?" "The older boys were Joe's." "Bobby's mine." "No!" "No, no, just listen to me." "Tell him the situation we discussed, he'll be extremely happy with the outcome." "Yeah, right." "Gotta run." "Dad, my source at NBC said they're gonna report we took Virginia." "(LAUGHS) That's great, Bobby." "That means the whole damn Eastern Seaboard is coming in exactly the way we wanted." "Yeah, I don't know, Dad, I'm a little worried." "I think we're gonna have" " a difficult time with the Midwest." " Midwest will be fine." "Well, we have no choice but to take Illinois, we could lose Michigan and Wisconsin, which I suspect we will, and you know we just can't afford to lose Illinois." "Oh, we'll take it." "Chicago will come through." "How do you know?" "There are more Catholics there than there are in Rome." "I threw enough money at them to keep them in wafers till 1980, so don't worry." "So what's on your mind?" "(STAMMERING) Uh..." "Well, you know." "I know it's going to be hectic here for the next few weeks." "So I just wanted to..." "Well, I want to discuss with you what I want to do after tonight." "What are you going to do?" "Well, Dad, I wanna..." "I wanna get out of politics, I wanna move the family to Boston and open my own practise." "Spend more time with Ethel and the children." "That's about it, really." "Good idea." " You really feel that way?" " Absolutely!" "You made a big sacrifice for Jack, and I love you for it." "So whatever you decide to do I'll be in your corner, just as I was for Jack." "And I know I..." "I rode you pretty hard at times." "But if Jack makes it to the White House, we both know it was you that put him there." "I..." "I..." "I really appreciate that, Dad." " Bobby." " Yeah." "Bobby." "Thank you, Bobby, for making my dream come true." "Thank you, Dad." "WOMAN:" "No, I'm sorry, he's not." "He said he was going out for some air." "(WOMAN LAUGHING)" "I said, uh..." "I said about..." "How are we doing in the Midwest?" "Midwest is fine." " Bobby, she..." "She works here." " So let her work." "I would appreciate if you would just have a little more sensitivity and not do that here." " I mean, Jackie is upstairs." " I know where she is." "You're unbelievable, you know." "Hey, always the altar boy, aren't you?" "Huh?" " I talked to Henry Luce today." " BOBBY:" "Yeah?" "What did he say?" "JACK:" "Well, I gave it to him for about 45 minutes." "Told me to take a look at the article." "BOBBY:" "Boy, I think I'm more nervous than you are." "How are you feeling?" "My knee's still killing from that blind-side hit you put on me yesterday." "No, no, I mean about getting married." "All right, all right, we'll get this show on the road just as soon as I've had a man-to-man talk with the bridegroom." "Newsreels are turning like it's a coronation!" "They're calling it the wedding of the decade." "All right, I'll see you at the altar." "No, no." "No, you can stay." "I'll be quick, I'm renting the cardinal by the hour." "(SIGHS)" "You've got yourself a good girl." "Jackie's smart, well-bred, damn attractive." "That's all to our advantage." "Is that our man-to-man talk?" "No, no." "Not exactly." "Just..." "Just stay discreet." "Wives don't expect fidelity, but they don't want infidelity thrown in their faces." "What?" "No, no." "Dad, why would you even say that?" "That's not true." "Jack, remember, you take that vow before God." "Sometimes you make me think I failed as a father." "Thanks, Dad." "Above all make sure the girls are discreet." "(SHOWER RUNNING)" "I knew what I was getting myself into, all the women throwing themselves at him." "I just thought he'd throw some of them back." "I'll talk to him." "And tell him what?" "Just don't get caught?" " That's not a solution." " What do you want me to do?" "Nothing." "I just wanted you to know that I'm going to file for divorce." "Wow. (STAMMERING) You're upset." "I understand that." "But he'll grow up, he'll change." "He can't change." "This is what he is." "This is how he's been raised." "Don't talk to me about how he's been raised." "Jackie, if you..." "If you divorce him, his career would be over, everything he's worked for..." "It would destroy him." "And what about me?" "Don't I deserve a life?" "Yes, you do, and you'll have one." "You think Jack will be in the Senate for the rest of his life?" "He's gonna run for President in 1960, and he's going win." "Have you told him?" "That makes you the First Lady at the age of 31." "What difference does that make if he doesn't respect me?" " He respects you." " (SCOFFS)" "And he loves you." "He keeps telling me all the time, you're the best thing that ever happened." " To his career." " To him." "You're going through a rough patch." "Rough patch." "That's all I've ever known." "I..." "I want a husband, I want a family." "And you'll have them both, I guarantee it." "But you have to stay." "I'll put a million dollars into a trust." "If Jack doesn't make it to the White House you can have your divorce and keep the million dollars." "You really think everyone can be bought." "I haven't met the exception." "Well, you have now." "Jackie, do you love him?" "That's not the point." "That's exactly the point." "Look, I know he's not perfect, no man is." "But I do know you can be happy with him." "And I'll see to it that you are." "You're sure you don't need me for anything else, Mr Kennedy?" "No, no, no, thanks." "You should get some sleep." "You, too." "I know that Jack will win." "No, we've come too far to lose." "Now I need to make an early start, there's going to be a mountain of calls tomorrow." "I'll be here." "I miss being with you, Joe." "It's chilly out there." "Would you like a sweater?" "Thank you, Mrs Kennedy." "I'll be fine." " Good night." " Good night, dear." "Good night." "Shall we go to bed, Rosie girl?" "NEWSCASTER ON TV:" "The Vice President expressed his appreciation to his staff and to the volunteers in the poll room, but he stopped short of a concession." "BOBBY:" "The bastard just won't concede." "...electoral politics is well known and, according to sources, been urged by several members in his internal circle to make his concession speech now, at roughly midnight in California." "Thanks for everything." "Sure." "Even if he does concede, there is always the possibility that he might ask for a recount." "(SIGHS HEAVILY)" "Okay." "Tired." "I'm gonna go to bed." "What do you mean?" "You're not gonna watch this?" "I'm tired." "Mr President, Mr President, Mr President." " Wake up, Mr President." "Wake up." " Mrs Shaw?" "Wake up, Mr President." " Are we in?" " Congratulations, sir!" "Jack." "I couldn't have done it without you." "Or you." "Come here." "Oh, what's this?" "Oh, careful." "My head." "(ALL LAUGHING)" "NEWSCASTER:" "The unexpectedly delayed climax saw Senator Kennedy the victor, with a clear margin of electoral votes." "At 43 years of age, he is the youngest man ever voted..." "Well, we're just going to have to stay after him, Lyndon." "Well, thank you for everything." "Well, I will." "Mmm-hmm." "He's says congratulations from him and Lady Bird." "That's nice." "Come on." "Let's get downstairs and bask in our glory." " Are you okay?" " Jack, you're going to be President" " and things are going to be different." " Well, honey, I think that's probably true." "Between us." "Our marriage works because I decided several years ago, to accept certain things about you." "And I've dealt with it." "I've had my private humiliations, but I won't have them in front of the American people." " The Times wrote the same damn thing." " I know, it was virtual." " Did you sleep at all?" " Are you kidding?" "I can't believe you did." "We did it." "We did it." " Closest margin in history, Dad." " You think I was going to pay for a landslide?" "I love you, boys." "Now, wait, wait, wait." "I got some ideas for your cabinet." "Oh, here we go." "Can't we just enjoy this?" "Just for the afternoon." "(LAUGHS)" "I think his memory is failing him." "Dad, you got me as Attorney General." " Yeah, 'cause that's what you're gonna be." " We talked about this." "You said you were fine." "I'm going to Boston tomorrow" " to look for office space." " No, you're not." "Jack needs somebody he can trust and I need you to keep an eye on Jack." "I'm picking my own cabinet, Dad." "I believe they elected me President, not you." "That's very true, Son." "They did."