President Johnson Visits Jacqueline Kennedy Following Tax Cut Passage

Feb. 27, 1964 - President Johnson (pictured the morning of Nov. 22) marked the passage of the historic tax reduction bill last night with a visit to Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and her children. The President and Mrs. Johnson went directly from the East Room of the White House, where he had spoken to a nationwide television audience, to Mrs. Kennedy’s house on N Street in Georgetown. There he presented President Kennedy’s widow and his two children with three of the pens he had used in the ceremonial signing of the tax bill — one of Mr. Kennedy’s highest priority legislative objectives.

When Mr. Johnson first addressed Congress last Nov. 27, less than a week after Mr. Kennedy’s assassination, he pledged that the Kennedy tax and civil rights bills would be enacted as a memorial to him. Last night’s ceremony in the East Room and the visit to Mrs. Kennedy and her children redeemed the first part of that pledge.

The President read most of his speech last evening from the Teleprompter — a device attached to the front of a television camera. It uses a constantly moving reel to present the speaker with a magnified text of his remarks. It was the first time he had used the Teleprompter since entering the White House. A large part of the speech, however, Mr. Johnson delivered without notes or text. Like most speakers, Mr. Johnson is often more effective when not reading. Before his address at 6:45 p.m., the President conducted a bill-signing ceremony that was recorded on videotape but without sound.