In the beginning when Kennedy is smoking a cigar and the poll results are told to him, the audio picks up Kennedy uttering "well, fuck". The only reason this was captured on audio is because Robert Drew hid a microphone in Kennedy's ashtray.
Pierre Salinger is seen first 8 minutes in, at Kennedy headquarters speaking on the telephone about "moratorium on small nuclear arms testing." He worked on Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign, becoming a leading figure in his campaign. When later John Kennedy was elected President, Mr. Salinger was appointed as his press secretary and, as such, was known for his wit, enthusiasm and considerable disdain for detail. Pierre Salinger also served as Lyndon Johnson's press secretary, and as a campaign manager for John's surviving brother, Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential run, during which he was assassinated.
This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1990.
In 1960, only fifteen states and the District of Columbia held primary elections for the Democrat party. Kennedy's closest rival for the nomination, Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, did not campaign in any primary state. Hubert H. Humphrey eventually finished sixth at the Democrat National Convention that year. Humphrey would gain the party's nomination on 1968, but would lose the presidency to Richard Nixon.
Preserved by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Film Archive in 1998.