man who accompanied

"I'd like to introduce myself: I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris. And I have enjoyed it."

President Kennedy greeted a batch of journalists with that quote, or something like it, in spring 1961, after huge crowds of people in France had turned out to greet the American President and First Lady. Admiration and enthusiasm directed toward Mrs. Kennedy led the president to affectionately (and admiringly) acknowledge her ascending "stardom," and, more substantively important, her value to his leadership. ...

First, a trip to Canada, where Pres. Kennedy injured his back in a tree-planting ceremony; the pain lasted all the way through the Europe trip which was --
France, then
Vienna, then
England.

Meeting with --
President de Gaulle in France,
Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna,
and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in England.

De Gaulle visit went well -- (the French Pres., very charmed / fascinated by Jackie); in Vienna, after warnings to not get sucked into ideological debating with Khrushchev, President Kennedy went into meetings with the Soviet premier and -- got sucked into ideological debating with him ...!

Pres. Kennedy felt bad afterwards, like he had been pushed around, and like he had lost something -- "lost" the conversation. But -- a debate inside of a room, with only your advisors present -- that means, for your country and for the world -- erm, -- mmh -- Nada. It was just an ego trip for Khrushchev and an ego-battering for Kennedy -- psychological trash-talk, whatever...
Our social and governmental system is better than yours!
My father can beat up your father!
My dog is bigger than your dog!

Whatever, dude.
Of course, Khrushchev may have entertained wishful thinking that because he had surprised and verbally pummeled the new American president in private conversation, that our president would then be intimidated by him, Khrush., in all dealings in the future. But I doubt that the Russian premiere was that naive. He was probably just spending a few hours practicing up his techniques of Sounding Right, and Dominating.

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Meanwhile, since there was so much public enthusiasm for Mrs. Kennedy, and breathless, glowing press coverage of her clothes, her glamour, her charm, her impressive knowledge of French culture, history, and art -- of course some bitchy journalist was tired of the unabated love-fest and wrote that at dinner in Vienna, the American First Lady might have had too much to drink.
(!) That was not something Mrs. Kennedy would do -- someone always has to come up with something mean to say...

So after Vienna, when they were with Prime Minister Macmillan, Kennedy, ticked off with himself for his perceived failure to hold his own with the Soviet premier, got onto a different subject, grousing about the speculation in the one press report that Mrs. Kennedy might have been tipsy:
"What would you do," he demanded to Macmillan, "if someone wrote that Lady Dorothy [Macmillan's wife] was a drunk?"

Macmillan: "I would reply, you should have seen her mother."

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