Behind the Scenes

Getting the Facts

Even while adopting a give-him-a-chance attitude, Washington newsmen already are beginning to wonder if likable Pierre Salinger will live up to the professional performance of his predecessor as presidential press secretary. Unlike Jim Hagerty, Salinger sits in on few top-level conferences with his boss, thus often has to turn back questions with guesswork (not always accurate) or with: "I don't know, I wasn't there." Last week Salinger led off an answer with his customary "I believe that . . ." and got barked at by one fed-up reporter: "I don't want to know what you believe, I want to know what the facts are."

Adlai at Sea

Adlai Stevenson talks enthusiastically about his new job as Ambassador to the U.N., said Secretary of State-designate Dean Rusk dryly last week, but "getting him going there is like trying to berth an ocean liner without tugs at night."

Professors v. Politicians?

A current Washington parlor game is guessing about when the close-knit Kennedy team will split in a struggle for influence between Top Aide Ted Sorensen's idea men and Patronage Adviser Kenny O'Donnell's professional politicians. According to close students of the Kennedy technique, the President-elect has hitherto managed to keep his staffers happy by dividing his favors between the "professors" and the "Irish Mafia." But he may have less time to soothe and smooth once he gets swamped by White House duties.

Second Thought

Asked whether he thought Dick Nixon could have won the election with a Roman Catholic as a running mate, outgoing Secretary of Labor (and an announced Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey) James P. Mitchell, himself a Catholic, replied: "Yes. And so does he. Now."

Housecleaning at Home

One problem that has Jack Kennedy seriously worried is the condition of the faction-ridden, scandal-tarred Democratic Party in Massachusetts. Last year the President-elect carried his home state with ease--while Republicans won the statehouse and kept their Senate seat. Convinced that things are likely to get worse before they get better, Jack Kennedy is now thinking of Brother Bobby as the man to take charge of the housecleaning, by eventually running for Governor rather than for Jack's old Senate seat.

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