Word: rayburns
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...Destiny. Such was Kennedy's performance during the inauguration ceremonies that the late Sam Rayburn was moved to remark: "He's a man of destiny." Poet Robert Frost, then 86, obviously thought so, too, and his proud reading of one of his poems at the inaugural set a tone of expectation. After a few weeks in the Presidency, Kennedy told a friend: "This is a damned good job." He was fascinated by the perquisites of his office and his sudden access to the deepest secrets of government. He explored the White House, poked his head into offices, asked...
...first time in 49 years, the name of Sam Rayburn was missing from the ballot in Texas' Fourth Congressional District. The cotton-and-cattle-country Fourth was Mister Sam's undisputed personal fief; the Texas legislature kept it the sixth smallest in the U.S. (its population is 213,374; by comparison, a neighboring district contains 951,527 Texans) to make fence-tending easy for the aging Speaker, who died last November at 79. Six candidates, including a lone Republican, campaigned to succeed him in a special election. Nobody polled a majority, so the two who led the field...
...leaders were both Democrats-and both laid claim to having been Rayburn's personal favorite. Said State Senator Ray Roberts, 44, who once worked in Mister Sam's House office: "There is no question about how Mr. Rayburn felt about me. Mr. Rayburn used to say it all the time; everybody's heard him say, 'I've been training Ray Roberts for 20 years to go to Washington.' " Said R. C. ("Bob") Slagle Jr., 51, a lawyer and onetime Rayburn campaign manager: "I worked with Rayburn for many years. I spent many happy hours...
...walked from the most important office to one that doesn't amount to a hill of beans.") But this year the still spiny "Cactus Jack" gaveled down the traditional birthday shivaree that in years past has drawn such guests as Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman and the late Sam Rayburn. Said Garner: "I don't want any fuss or anybody raising a ruckus. I feel good some of the time, but I don't feel so good at other times...
Died. Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn, 79, member of the U.S. House of Representatives for a record 49 years. Speaker for an unmatched 17 (more than twice as long as his nearest competitor, Henry Clay); of cancer; in Bonham, Texas (see THE NATION...