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Show W W ' V i N J What Kind of First Lady Would She Be? By BOB DRISCOLL Bouvier Kennedy, the beautiful wife of the Democratic Presidential nominee, admits being a political neophyte before her marriage in 1953. Since then, however, she has lived in the politically saturated atmosphere of what is now referred to as "the Kennedy clan." --"She breathes all of the political gases that flow around us," says husband John F. Kennedy, "but never seems to inhale them." He didn't mean that Jacqueline (she dislikes the nickname "Jackie") 'lacked political savvy; he meant that she took political matters in stride. So when I recently asked her: "Mrs. Kennedy, what kind of a First Lady will you be if Senator Kennedy wins the election?" --a loaded question at ' best I wasn't surprised by "I really think it would be silly to talk about that now," she replied. Although Jacqueline feels that it would be presumptuous and undignified to project herself as the next First Lady, our ensuing discussion on a variety of subjects gave an idea what to expect. She certainly wouldn't be as much in the public eye as some previous First Ladies, such as Eleanor Roosevelt. She has demonstrated during her husband's campaigns that she feels she should travel with him as his wife, not as a fellow politician. When I asked her why she hadn't given more speeches in Senator Kennedy's behalf during his campaign, she told me emphatically: "When Jack is going to speak, I'm sure that no one wants to hear me. I'm happy to chat with people afterward and answer their questions about my husband if they, have any. Once in Wisconsin, when Jack was called home to vote, I fulfilled his speaking schedule for two days, but only because he couldn't possibly be there." With great feeling, she told me she was heartbroken that her doctors won't permit her to campaign with Jack because she is expecting "her second child in November. (Their first child, Caroline, is now 2Vz.) In 1956, she went to the Democratic convention with him when she was seven months be there, but pregnant. She felt it was her duty she had a miscarriage soon after and was on the critical list for a week. "Maybe I'll find some magic way to help him this time," she told me whimsically. "This is the major effort of his life." Jacqueline her-answ-er. 1 vV I lb ' l :. What's Jacqueline Really Like? J f I S3 'V. : 1 " -- i ...... 'A .'1 Jacqueline has tried to make the Kennedys' Georgetown home, a retreat where Jack can escape pressures. Family Weekly, September IS, 10 To understand the full significance of Jacqueline's attitude and the effect it would have on her possible tenure in the White House, it's necessary to know the "real" Mrs. Kennedy. Jacqueline's society upbringing is consistent with the background of many of our First Ladies. Her father, the late John Bouvier III, was a stockbroker, as is her stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss. She is accustomed to summers on the swank seashore at Newport, R. I., servants, boats, travel, horses, private schools, and all the other adjuncts of upper-cla- ss living. Quite often her aristocratic family spoke French at the dinner table; if Jacqueline or her sister Caroline lapsed into English, they had to pay a penny fine. As she grew up, she followed a course that one could safely predict for a young girl of elite family background. Straight "A's" at Miss Porter's exclusive school preceded Vassar College. She left Vas-s- ar to study on the continent. Perhaps it was atc this point "that background of cloistered riches wore thin and the woman that Jack Kennedy fell in love with began to emerge. She refused to return to Vassar because she didn't want "to live like a little girl again" in a college dormitory. She finished work for her degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and set out to find a newspaper job. When she was offered an inquiring photographer's job on the Washington Post & Times Herald, she grabbed it Basically she's a shy girl, and she admits that at first it was agony "stopping perfect, strangers and asking them silly questions while a photographer bobbed around between us." But she showed a characteristic determination by sticking to it. She even learned photography (she still loves to take pictures although she hates to be photo graphed herself) and went out on her own. Considering Jacqueline's shyness, it's difficult to picture her as part of the Kennedy family. The Kennedys have always been a closely knit group with a rigorous spirit comparable to that of a college football team, and Jacqueline has done her best to adapt to their feverish vitality. She played ll in the traditional Kepnedy games, for instance, although she probably would have preferred to cut flowers for the house. Brother-in-laTeddy brought home some brawny teammates - from Harvard for a "friendly" game one weekend, , and the collegians ended Jacqueline's attempt to "be a Kennedy" by breaking her ankle. touch-footba- w high-spirit- ed She's Happier in the Background Jacqueline decided to be herself, to stand back and admire the enthusiasms of the family she had married into. All indications point to the fact that this passive role suits her. She's certainly not as dynamic as her husband and. will be fully content-ttake a back seat to him as far as public life is concerned. Because of her attitude, friends say that Jack Kennedy has finally learned to relax. Any White House guest list, however, would reflect Jacqueline's preferences as well as her Instead of just cabinet members, high- -, ranking officials, and businessmen, it's a safe bet there also would be younger, more varied guests for the Kennedys. For example, Jacqueline's newspaper, background put her in close contact with many journalists, and Jack, a Pulitzer Prize-win- -; (Continued) hus-band'- s. the-shelter- ed Though she has a governess for Caroline, Jacqueline prefers caring for her daughter herself. Like two gentle kittens, they play together for hours. o |