Kennedy & Nixon 7

On pages 232-233 of Kennedy & Nixon, Chris Matthews tells the following story:

“While Kennedy had gotten past his earlier political contests with Lodge to the point of plotting a deadly coup with him, his differences with Nixon remained personal.  With the exception of their meeting after the Bay of Pigs, the ex-vice president was persona non grata.  Their early friendship had been a casualty of electoral war.  ‘I like him, too,’ Kennedy said when told by author Theodore White that a prospective 1964 challenger, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, held a warm regard for him.  ‘But that’s not important.  He’ll get to hate me.  That’s inevitable.’”

It’s interesting how bonds between people are forged and broken.  Circumstances play a key role in this.  Sometimes, when I think about certain people with whom I’ve not gotten along, I’ve wondered if we could have been friends had the circumstances been different, or had I behaved differently.  I can’t entirely rule that out, but, to be honest, I just can’t envision myself clicking with certain personalities, whatever the circumstances.