The Party's Over

The election is won, the enemy has been repelled, and now President-elect Kennedy may settle down to what he has called "the great unfinished business of the country." Now he may convince those who supported him more in hope than in certainty that the choice they made was an important one.

In the next few weeks, after a well-earned rest, Kennedy must weigh seriously the course his Administration will take in putting into effect the promises of the Democratic platform. He must draft an inaugural address, designed not to away an electorate, but to awaken the American people to the dangers, sacrifices and responsibilities that the next decade will present.

The job that now faces Kennedy is different from (though not unrelated to) the one he has just so successfully completed. In the last several months, with the skill of the born politician, he has impressed his attractive personality on enough voters to win election as President of the United States. Now, with the skill of the statesman, he must lead the nation through what he himself has described as a difficult and dangerous time.

These first few months--with the inaugural address and the selection of the Cabinet--will set the tone of the entire Kennedy Administration. Soon, those of us who supported Kennedy as our only hope for a decent future will know whether our faith was well-placed.