En route to the much anticipated Vienna Summit with Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev, President Kennedy paid a State Visit to Charles DeGaulle to engage in talks regarding French views on U.S. Foreign Policy and discuss differences with regards to NATO.

Here is a wrap-up of the days events for June 2nd, 1961 as reported by Leon Pearson and NBC Radio News.

We forget how often President's used to hold news conferences. During the JFK years is was almost every week. This Press Conference, from June 7, 1962 covers a wide range of topics. The budget, the recession, inflation, taxes and of course Medicare, which was foremost on JFK's agenda in 1962.

He opens the Press Conference with a statement:

President Kennedy: "Good afternoon. I have a brief preliminary statement. I would like to say a few words about our economic outlook and program.
I think most financial experts have realized for some time that an overpriced market could not hold up once investors recognized that inflation was ending. Price-earning ratios which averaged on Dow-Jones 23 to 1 could not be justified unless there was heavy inflation in prospect. And we have been working to prevent inflation, which gives a very misleading and spurious picture of economic health. We must not permit the effects of this adjustment, however, to hamper the growth rate of our economy, with which we have, as you know, not been fully satisfied. While our recovery from last year's recession has been a good one, production, profits, and employment are at alltime highs, and the prospects for continued economic expansion remain favorable. In view of corporate and consumer cash on hand, we should take every appropriate step to make certain that recovery is stronger and longer than before and is not cut short by a new recession.

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It should be remembered that the concept of affordable Healthcare for everyone isn't a new concept. It's history goes back as far as 1909 as an idea hatched by Teddy Roosevelt. It was re-introduced during the FDR years, first as a possible adjunct to Social Security, but shelved temporarily, and was in the midst of being introduced again, when World War 2 broke out in December of 1941. It was again introduced by Harry Truman as a continuation of the legacy of FDR. It was bandied about during the Eisenhower years and it was again introduced in 1962 by President Kennedy.

Here is an address made by JFK at a rally in Madison Square Garden on May 20, 1960. Promoted as Medical Care for the Aged, Kennedy hoped for a plan that would insure decent medical care to those over the age of 65 and those who couldn't afford it. The bill was introduced and shelved, but was re-introduced and finally passed during the Johnson Administration in 1964 as a legacy to President Kennedy.

Here is that complete address.

One often wonders if the contentious relationship between the White House and the Press has always been that way. To a certain degree, yes - and, for the most part, that's a good thing.

But it hasn't always been so vicious. And maybe that's the level of professionalism that's been sorely missing of late.

Here is an address given by President Kennedy on the occasion of a meeting of Editors and Bureau Chiefs for United Press International on June 8, 1961.

It's a short address and it's followed by an impromptu Q&A and it was carried by NBC Radio.

Just a reminder that some things do change over time - and often for no good reason.

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When news of the ill-fated CIA backed invasion of Cuba at The Bay Of Pigs was first announced on April 17th, it wasn't clear if the attempted overthrow of the Castro regime would be a success or not. But as hours and days passed, it was clear it wasn't. In fact, it was a howling failure and it made for a goodly amount of Anti-U.S. propaganda fodder for the Soviet press and another big set-back for our Foreign Policy in Latin America.

President Kennedy made an address to the country during a meeting of the Press Association. At the time it wasn't made known the CIA had anything to do with the invasion, rather it was touted to be a group of Anti-Castro rebels, trained and equipped on a shoestring, attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro. That part looked good on paper. But the reality was a bit different.

Here is that address from April 21, 1961.