John F. Kennedy, Jr. (We Can Do Better)

John F. Kennedy Jr. (born November 25, 1960) is an American lawyer, journalist, magazine publisher, and politician who is currently the junior United States Senator from New York and president-elect of the United States. He is a prominent member of the Kennedy family and widely perceived to be its head. He is the son of President John F. Kennedy and his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and nephew of President Robert F. Kennedy, who previously held Kennedy's seat in the Senate. Kennedy is also the nephew of Senator Ted Kennedy and younger brother of Caroline Kennedy, the current United States Ambassador to Japan. His father was assassinated three days before his third birthday.

From his early childhood onwards, Kennedy was the subject of great media scrutiny, and he became a popular social figure of Manhattan. Trained as a lawyer, he worked as a New York City Assistant District Attorney for four years. In 1995, he launched George magazine, using his political and celebrity status to publicize it. He sold the magazine in late 1999, when he was convinced by his uncles to run for the Senate seat in New York that was going to be vacated in 2000 by retiring Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Kennedy faced little opposition in the primaries and went on

In the 2008 presidential election, Kennedy, his sister, and both of his uncles endorsed Democratic candidate Barack Obama for president early in the primary race; he later stumped for him in Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio and addressed the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. Kennedy was a strong supporter of President Obama throughout his presidency.

On May 29, 2015, the 98th anniversary of his father's birth, Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party's nominee for president. Kennedy quickly emerged as the frontrunner with the support of the President and Vice President as well as other prominent figures in the party. Kennedy received the most votes and primary delegates in the 2016 Democratic primaries, formally accepting his party's nomination for President of the United States on July 28, 2016 and chose Missouri Governor Jay Nixon as his running mate. Kennedy ran his campaign on the message of improvement on the progress of President Obama's administration, reusing one of his father's slogans, "We Can Do Better", as his slogan throughout the election. His platform consisted of populist and social democratic positions that were popular among white middle class voters, more to the left than any of his primary opponents. He also focused on appealing to minority voters, especially blacks and Latinos.

Kennedy went on to defeat Trump in the general election in a landslide, winning over 70 million votes to Trump's 57 million, becoming the second president to have been a son of a former president, the first having been John Quincy Adams.

White House years


John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. was born at Georgetown University Hospital, two weeks after his father was elected president. His parents had a stillborn daughter named Arabella four years before John Jr.'s birth. John Jr. had an older sister, Caroline, and an infant brother, Patrick, who died two days after his premature birth in 1963. His putative nickname, "John-John", came from a reporter who misheard JFK calling him "John" twice in quick succession; the name was not used by his family.

John Jr. lived in the White House during the first three years of his life, and later remained in the public spotlight up until his death. His father was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and the state funeral was held three days later on John Jr.'s third birthday. In a moment that became an iconic image of the 1960s, John Jr. stepped forward and rendered a final salute as his father's flag-draped casket was carried out from St. Matthew's Cathedral. The family continued with their plans for a birthday party, to demonstrate that the Kennedys would go on despite the death of their father.

Mother's remarriage and uncle's presidency
Following his father's assassination, Kennedy moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City with his mother and sister, where he grew up. In 1967, his mother took him and his sister Caroline on a six-week "sentimental journey" to Ireland, where they met President Éamon de Valera and visited the Kennedy ancestral home in Dunganstown.

In 1968, his mother married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, and the family went to live on his private island of Skorpios. Kennedy is said to have considered his stepfather "a joke."

In 1971, Kennedy returned to the White House with his mother and sister for the first time since the assassination. President Richard Nixon's daughters gave Kennedy a tour that included his old bedroom, and Nixon showed him the Resolute desk under which his father had let him play. When Onassis died in 1975, he left Kennedy $25,000, though Jacqueline was able to renegotiate the will, and acquired $20 million for herself and her children.

In 1976, Kennedy and his cousin visited an earthquake disaster zone at Rabinal in Guatemala, helping with heavy building work and distributing food. The local priest said that they "ate what the people of Rabinal ate and dressed in Guatemalan clothes and slept in tents like most of the earthquake victims", adding that the two "did more for their country's image" in Guatemala "than a roomful of ambassadors." On his sixteenth birthday, Kennedy's Secret Service protection ended. He spent the summer of 1978 working as a wrangler in Wyoming. Before attending Brown University, Kennedy accompanied his mother to Africa. On a pioneering course, he rescued his group, which had got lost for two days without food or water, and won points for leadership. In 1979, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum was dedicated, and Kennedy made his first major speech, reciting Stephen Spender's poem "I Think Continually of Those Who Were Truly Great".

Throughout his uncle's presidency, Kennedy was a frequent visitor at the White House, and often spent more time there then he did at home. In 1978, his uncle stated "My nephew is going to be president, I don't doubt it anymore." These words later proved true. Kennedy went across the country in 1980 as part of his uncle's re-election campaign. Large crowds came out to see him wherever he went. The Washington Post wrote "The way he was received, one might imagine he was the one running for president." At the age of 20, he spoke at his uncle's reinauguration, with large parts of his speech echoing his father's inaugural address.

Education
Kennedy attended private schools in New York City, starting at Saint David's School and moving to Collegiate, which he attended from third through tenth grade, and completed high school at Phillips Andover Academy, Massachusetts. After graduating, he went to Brown University where he majored in American studies. Here he co-founded a student discussion group that focused on contemporary issues such as apartheid in South Africa, gun control, and civil rights. Visiting South Africa during a summer break, he was appalled by apartheid, and arranged for U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young to speak about the topic at Brown.

By his junior year at Brown, he had moved off campus to live with several other students in a shared house, and spent time at Xenon, a club owned by Howard Stein. Kennedy was initiated into Phi Psi, a local social fraternity which had been the Rhode Island Alpha Chapter of national Phi Kappa Psi fraternity until 1978. He graduated in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in American studies, and then took a working break, traveling to India and spending some time at the University of Delhi, where he met Mother Teresa. He also worked with some of the Kennedy special interest projects, including the East Harlem School at Exodus House and Reaching Up.

Early career
After the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco, Kennedy returned to New York and earned $20,000 a year in a position at the Office of Business Development, where his boss reflected that he worked "in the same crummy cubbyhole as everybody else. I heaped on the work and was always pleased." From 1984 to 1986, he worked for the New York City Office of Business Development and served as deputy director of the 42nd Street Development Corporation in 1986, conducting negotiations with developers and city agencies. In 1988, he became a summer associate at Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg & Phillips, a Los Angeles law firm with strong connections to the Democratic Party. Here Kennedy worked for Charlie Manatt, his uncle Ted Kennedy's law school roommate.

Acting
Meanwhile, he had done a bit of acting, which was one of his passions (he had appeared in many plays while at Brown.) He expressed interest in acting as a career, but his mother strongly disapproved of it as an unsuitable profession. On August 4, 1985, Kennedy made his New York acting debut in front of an invitation-only audience at the Irish Theater on Manhattan's West Side. Executive director of the Irish Arts Center, Nye Heron, said that Kennedy was "one of the best young actors I've seen in years". Kennedy's director, Robin Saex stated, "He has an earnestness that just shines through." Kennedy's largest acting role was playing a fictionalized version of himself in the season eight episode of sitcom Murphy Brown, called 'Altered States'. In this episode Kennedy visits Brown at her office in order to promote a magazine he is publishing.

Family activity
Kennedy addressed the 1988 Democratic National Convention, introducing his uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy. He invoked his father's inaugural address, calling "a generation to public service", and received a two-minute standing ovation. Republican consultant Richard Viguerie said he did not remember a word of the speech, but remembered "a good delivery" and added, "I think it was a plus for the Democrats and the boy. He is strikingly handsome."

Kennedy participated in his cousin Patrick J. Kennedy's campaign for a seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives by visiting the district.[22] He sat outside the polling booth and had his picture taken with "would-be" voters. The polaroid ploy worked so well in the campaign that Patrick J. Kennedy used it again in 1994.

Nonprofit work, graduation from law school
From 1989, Kennedy headed Reaching Up, a nonprofit group which provided educational and other opportunities for workers who helped people with disabilities. William Ebenstein, executive director of Reaching Up, said, "He was always concerned with the working poor, and his family always had an interest in helping them."

In 1989, Kennedy earned a J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law. He then failed the New York bar exam twice, before passing on his third try in July 1990. Kennedy vowed, after failing it for the second time, that he would take it continuously until he was ninety-five years old or passed, though if he had failed a third time, he would have been out as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office, where he worked for the next four years. On August 29, 1991, Kennedy won his first prosecution.

In summer 1992, he worked as a journalist and was commissioned by The New York Times to write an article about his kayaking expedition to the Aland Archipelago, where he saved one of his friends from the water when his kayak capsized. He then considered creating a magazine with his friend, public relations magnate Michael J. Berman - a plan which his mother thought too risky.

George magazine
In 1995, Kennedy and Michael Berman founded George, a glossy, politics-as-lifestyle and fashion monthly, with Kennedy controlling 50 percent of the shares. Kennedy officially launched the magazine at a news conference in Manhattan on September 8, and joked that he had not seen so many reporters in one place since he failed his first bar exam.

Each issue of the magazine contained an editor's column and interviews written by Kennedy, who believed they could make politics "accessible by covering it in an entertaining and compelling way" which would allow "popular interest and involvement" to follow. Kennedy did interviews with Louis Farrakhan, Billy Graham, Garth Brooks and others.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter wrote in a column that George was "truly a political magazine, not a Democratic magazine". Coulter said Kennedy had admired an article she wrote attacking a congressman representing the fourth district of Columbia, and in one of their last conversations, Kennedy mocked one of the magazine's liberal columnists for being a "predictable bore."

The first issue was criticized for its image of Cindy Crawford posing as George Washington in a powdered wig and ruffled shirt. In defense of the cover, Kennedy stated that "political magazines should look like Mirabella."

In July 1997, Vanity Fair had published a profile of Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani claiming that the mayor was sleeping with his press secretary (which both parties denied). Although tempted to follow up on this story, Kennedy decided against it. The same month, Kennedy wrote about meeting Mother Teresa, declaring that the "three days I spent in her presence was the strongest evidence this struggling Catholic has ever had that God exists."

The September 1997 issue of George centered around temptation, and featured two of Kennedy's cousins, Michael LeMoyne Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy II. Michael had been accused of having an affair with his children's underaged babysitter, while Joe had been accused by his ex-wife of having bullied her. John declared that both his cousins had become "poster boys for bad behaviour" - believed to be the first time a member of the Kennedy family had publicly attacked another Kennedy. He said he was trying to show that press coverage of the pair was unfair, due to them being Kennedys. But Joe paraphrased John's father by stating, "Ask not what you can do for your cousin, but what you can do for his magazine."

Magazine decline
By early 1997, Kennedy and Berman found themselves locked in a power struggle, which led to screaming matches, slammed doors, and even one physical altercation. Eventually Berman sold his share of the company, and Kennedy took on Berman's responsibilities himself. Though the magazine had already begun to decline in popularity before Berman left, his departure was followed by a rapid drop in sales.

David Pecker, CEO of Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, who were partners in George, said that this was because Kennedy refused to "take risks as an editor, despite the fact that he was an extraordinary risk taker in other areas of his life." Pecker said, "He understood that the target audience for George was the eighteen-to-thirty-four-year-old demographic, yet he would routinely turn down interviews that would appeal to this age group, like Princess Diana or John Gotti, Jr., to interview subjects like Dan Rostenkowski or Vo Nguyen Giap, an obscure North Vietnamese general." Shortly before deciding to run for the Senate, Kennedy had been planning a series of online chats with the 2000 presidential candidates. Microsoft was to provide the technology and pay for it while receiving advertising in George. After he left to run for Senate, the magazine was bought out by Hachette, but folded in early 2001.

United States senate
Kennedy was asked publicly if he was interested in politics as a career. He replied no, for the time being, but would not rule it out for the future. His uncles believed that politics was John's destiny, and urged him to run for several offices. By the summer of 1999, Ted believed that the best chance to return a Kennedy to the White House would be for John to run for Governor of New York in 2002. However, when Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced that he would be retiring, Robert convinced John to run for his old seat. Although many Democrats had expressed interest in running for the seat, when Kennedy announced his candidacy, most of them withdrew themselves from consideration.

2000 Senate election
Initially, Kennedy expected to face Rudy Giuliani (the mayor of New York City) as his Republican opponent in the election. Giuliani withdrew from the race in May 2000 after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and matters related to his failing marriage became public, and Clinton instead faced Rick Lazio, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing New York's 2nd congressional district. Lazio's campaign focused on attacking Kennedy's perceived inexperience, as he had never held public office, and accused him for relying on his family name. Ultimately, Kennedy defeated Lazio comfortably and became the junior Senator from New York.

Personal life
When Kennedy's mother Jacqueline died on May 19, 1994, he supported his sister Caroline, who preferred a private family funeral, against his uncles Robert and Ted, who argued for a large public observance. Caroline's husband Edwin Schlossberg and Maurice Tempelsman (Jackie's longtime companion) also supported her. At the funeral in Arlington National Cemetery, Kennedy and his sister did brief readings. He also paid tribute to his father and visited his grave before departing with his sister. After their mother's death, he and Caroline became closer, with Kennedy telling his worrying sister that he planned to live to "a ripe old age."

Relationships
While attending Brown University, Kennedy met Sally Munro, whom he dated for six years, and they visited India in 1983. Also while at Brown, he met Brooke Shields, with whom he was later linked.

Kennedy also dated models Cindy Crawford and Julie Baker, as well as actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who said she enjoyed dating Kennedy but realized he "was a public domain kind of a guy." Parker claimed to have no idea what "real fame" was until dating Kennedy and felt that she should "apologize for dating him" since it became the "defining factor in the person" she was.

Kennedy had known actress Daryl Hannah since their two families had vacationed together in St. Maarten in the early '80s. After meeting again at the wedding of Jackie's sister Lee Radziwill in 1988, they dated for five and a half years, though their relationship was complicated by her feelings for singer Jackson Browne, with whom she had lived for a time.

Also during this time Kennedy dated Christina Haag. They knew each other as children and also attended Brown University.

Marriage
After his relationship with Daryl Hannah ended, Kennedy began living with Carolyn Bessette, who worked in the fashion industry and was the youngest daughter of William J. Bessette and Ann Messina Freeman. They were engaged for a year, though Kennedy consistently denied reports of this. They married in a secret ceremony on September 21, 1996, on Cumberland Island, Georgia, where his sister Caroline was matron of honor and his cousin Anthony Radziwill was best man.

The next day, Kennedy's cousin Patrick revealed that the pair had married. When they returned to their Manhattan home, there were a mass of reporters on the doorstep. One of them asked Kennedy if he had enjoyed his honeymoon, to which he responded "Very much." He added "Getting married is a big adjustment for us, and for a private citizen like Carolyn even more so. I ask you to give her all the privacy and room you can."

But Carolyn was, in fact, badly disoriented by the constant attention from the paparazzi. The couple was permanently on show, both at fashionable Manhattan events, and on their travels to visit celebrities such as Mariuccia Mandelli, Gianni Versace and Donald Trump. She also complained to her friend, journalist Jonathan Soroff, that she could not get a job without being accused of exploiting her fame.

Carolyn eventually became pregnant with the couple's first child in early 2000. The child, a girl, was born on November 1, 2000, a week before Kennedy's election to the Senate. She was named Arabella Jacqueline after Kennedy's deceased sister (Arabella) and mother. Their second child, John Fitzgerald III, was born on May 15, 2002. Their third child, Patrick Bessette, was born on August 10, 2005. The Kennedys worked successfully their three children out of the public eye. For the large part, they were rarely photographed or reported on. However, when Kennedy began his campaign for the presidency, all three of his children frequently appeared at campaign stops with him.

Despite rumors that Kennedy and his wife have a strained personal relationship, their public image is one of a supportive and positive marriage. There were rumors they were going to be divorced in 2007, these disappeared after the attempt on Kennedy's life.