John F. Kennedy – Leadership Qualities That Moved A Nation by Christian Hald-Mortensen BA in Political Science, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, 2003 Master in Public Administration, GSPIA, 2007 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh In partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of ‘Master in Public Administration’ University of Pittsburgh 2007 1 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS This thesis was presented by Christian Hald-Mortensen It was defended on March 20, 2007 and approved by Donald Goldstein, Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Leon Haley, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Kevin P. Kearns, Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Thesis Advisor: Donald Goldstein, Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs 2 Copyright © by Christian Hald-Mortensen 2007 3 JOHN F. KENNEDY – LEADERSHIP QUALITIES THAT MOVED A NATION Christian Hald-Mortensen, M.P.A. University of Pittsburgh, 2007 Leadership studies ask ‘what makes an effective leader?’. The research question in this thesis is: “How can the three factors - vision, decision-making style, and delegation - explain whether John F. Kennedy was an effective President?” While there are many other leadership factors such as integrity, political/legislative skills and communications skills three factors were chosen. The research methodology was a single case study of the Kennedy Presidency. The Vision Hypothesis A President will be effective if he has a compelling vision of the future of America The MA thesis tested whether ‘The New Frontier’ was a successful vision from which visionary initiatives were derived. The Moon Project was the most ambitious national scientific project in two decades, propelling the U.S. forward in the space race. JFK’s ideas on peaceful cooperation with the Soviets were a consequence of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The vision was enunciated with his ‘Test Ban Treaty’ speech at American University, in which he pledged for a pause in the Cold War. The Decision Making Style Hypothesis A President will be effective if he has a competent personal decision making style The thesis tested whether President JFK had an effective personal decision making style. JFK often took issues out of the bureaucratic system in time to defend his own right to decide and his own right of innovation. JFK’s collegial decision making model was a consensus-seeking vehicle which ensured that problems were debated through cross-fertilization. 4 The Delegation Hypothesis: A President will be effective if he delegates with an eye to his political control JFK knew what he was looking for in every position. Secretary of State Dean Rusk was probably chosen because JFK had conceived a greater role for himself. Scholarly work has demonstrated that JFK was very engaged in foreign affairs. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara was chosen as a rational, intelligent civilian that could provide political control over the military establishment. Speech Writer Ted Sorensen knew JFK’s ideas, and they cooperated closely on the speeches of the Administration. JFK’s selection of advisors reflected the strengths and weaknesses of his own policy experience. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE.................................................................................................................................... 12 1.0 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 15 1.1 DEFINITIONS OF LEADERSHIP ................................................................. 16 1.2 CONTEMPORARY THEORY – THE TRANSFORMING LEADER ....... 16 1.3 THE STATESMAN VS. THE POLITICIAN – A FOCUS ON THE LONG- TERM INTERESTS OF THE NATION.......................................................................... 17 1.4 THE PRESIDENT MUST BE AS BIG A MAN AS HE CAN....................... 18 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION................................................................................. 18 1.6 PRESENTING THE LEADERSHIP TRAITS: VISION, DECISION- MAKING STYLE, DELEGATION.................................................................................. 19 1.7 THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY – THE CASE STUDY APPROACH . ............................................................................................................................. 20 1.7.1 Case Studies Aim at Causality................................................................... 21 2.0 SECOND CHAPTER: BIOGRAPHY OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY . 23 2.1 BECOMING A POLITICIAN, ‘WHY ENGLAND SLEPT’ ........................ 24 2.2 CONGRESS, SENATE, “PROFILES IN COURAGE” ................................ 24 2.3 PRESIDENT KENNEDY ................................................................................. 25 2.4 JFK ENJOYED THE PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE... 26 6 2.5 WHAT WAS HIS PRESIDENTIAL PURPOSE?.......................................... 28 2.6 JFK DIED TOO YOUNG, SO HOW CAN WE ASSESS HIS PERFORMANCE?............................................................................................................. 28 3.0 THIRD CHAPTER: VISION ................................................................................... 29 3.1 VISION THEORY............................................................................................. 29 3.2 PRESIDENT JFK’S VISION: THE NEW FRONTIER (1960).................... 31 3.3 JFK’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS PRESENTED THE VISION OF THE PRESIDENCY TO THE UNITED STATES AND TO THE WORLD (1961)............. 33 3.4 THE IDEALIST VISION IN PRACTICE: THE PEACE CORPS (1961)... 35 3.5 THE VISION OF SPACE: ‘AMERICA UNRIVALED’ - THE MOON PROJECT (1961)................................................................................................................ 35 3.6 PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S VISION OF PEACE – THE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY (1963) ........................................................................................................ 37 3.6.1 Understanding the Enemy.......................................................................... 38 3.6.2 “The Vision of Peace” Demanded a Tailored Speechwriting Process ... 39 3.6.3 The Statesman vs. The Politician............................................................... 40 3.7 EVALUATING PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S VISION................................... 41 4.0 FOURTH CHAPTER: THE PRESIDENT’S DECISION MAKING STYLE..... 42 4.1 DEVELOPING THE DECISION MAKING STYLE HYPOTHESIS......... 42 4.1.1 Scholarly work on Presidential decision making ..................................... 43 4.1.2 Alexander George & Thomas Preston: Each President has his own “style” ....................................................................................................................... 44 4.1.3 Personality plays a role in the President’s decision making style .......... 45 7 4.2 ANALYSIS OF JFK’S DECISION MAKING STYLE ................................. 46 4.2.1 JFK’s ‘Collegial Decision Making Model’................................................ 46 4.2.2 The Transition from Eisenhower’s Commando System to JFK’s Informal White House (1960-61) ............................................................................. 47 4.2.3 After the Bay of Pigs Fiasco: Putting Kennedy Men in Strategic Spots (1961) ....................................................................................................................... 49 4.2.4 The Collegial Model in the Cuban Missile Crisis (1963)......................... 49 4.3 EVALUATING PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S DECISION MAKING STYLE ............................................................................................................................. 51 5.0 FIFTH CHAPTER: DELEGATION ....................................................................... 53 5.1 THEORY ON PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORS ................................................ 53 5.2 JFK’S PERSONNEL POLICY: “GET THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST” & THE “ACTION INTELLECTUALS”............................................... 55 5.3 DELEGATION IN FOREIGN POLICY - CHOOSING SECRETARY OF STATE, DEAN RUSK........................................................................................................ 56 5.3.1 When choosing Rusk - JFK sought control .............................................. 57 5.4 CHOOSING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, ROBERT S. MCNAMARA... 59 5.5 A CHIEF SPEECHWRITER WITH FULL ACCESS: TED SORENSEN . 60 5.6 BOBBY KENNEDY – PARTNER IN POLITICAL CONTROL................. 63 5.7 BALANCING ADVICE BY USE OF EXTERNAL ADVISERS: THE BRITISH AMBASSADOR, DAVID ORMSBY–GORE................................................. 64 5.8 EVALUATING THE LEADERSHIP FACTOR DELEGATION IN THE JFK PRESIDENCY............................................................................................................ 65 8 6.0 SIXTH CHAPTER: SUMMARY OF HYPOTHESIS TESTS .............................. 67 6.1 EVALUATING KENNEDY’S VISION .......................................................... 67 6.2 EVALUATING PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S DECISION MAKING STYLE ............................................................................................................................. 68 6.3 EVALUATING DELEGATION IN THE JFK PRESIDENCY.................... 69 6.4 COULD OTHER FACTORS HAVE LED TO DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS ON PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP?.............................................. 70 6.4.1 Integrity ......................................................................................................