Even with people he knew, RFK could sometimes be quite withdrawn. In that regard, he was unlike his brother Ted, who always seemed very outgoing. I imagine he was different in that way from President Kennedy as well. I think it was not long after this first office party that we were all invited to another gathering at some hotel ballroom near the Capitol. I can’t, for the life of me, remember what the occasion was. Perhaps someone was leaving the staff—maybe Ed Guthman; maybe it was for something else entirely. But anyway, what I do remember clearly is someone playing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” on the piano, and Senator Ted Kennedy standing next to the piano, singing at the top of his lungs—mostly off-key.
He was very gregarious and often quite drunk back then—completely different from RFK in that sense. Two brothers hadn’t served in the Senate together at the same time since 1803, but you couldn’t find two men who were more unalike in so many ways. Ted was also known as a big womanizer in those days. Perhaps his drinking had something to do with that too. But I know that the girls up on the Hill had a rule back then: Don’t ever get into an elevator alone with Ted Kennedy. Ted wasn’t the only one, of course; there were some other Senators for whom the rule also applied. Never RFK, however.
It’s funny, though—whenever the Senator was with Ted, he became more outgoing himself. They would always be joking and teasing each other like a couple of college boys. I imagine that President Kennedy brought out that side of him, too. I remember one time I ran into him and his brother, Ted, up at the Capitol—this was much later, maybe 1966. I waved at RFK as I was passing, and the Senator called me to come over. I gladly went up to them, and he asked, “What are you doing here, Donna?”
By this time, we knew each other quite well. I was something of a smart aleck, and he seemed to enjoy that about me. So I said, “I came over to pick up my check. Some of us have to work for a living, you know.” With this, Ted burst out laughing, and the Senator just smiled—the smile of a man who didn’t mind being spoken to that way. Then he asked me, gesturing to Ted, “Do you know who this is?” I rolled my eyes and replied, “No, I don’t have a clue.” Then he immediately added with a smirk, “This is the Senator from Massachusetts. He’s a member of ‘The Club.’”
He said “The Club” in a derogatory sort of way. I chuckled. “Nice to meet you, Senator.” (Even though I had met him before.) Then I said, “Well, I better get going … before they run out of money. See you boys later.” I left them standing there like a couple of fraternity brothers waiting for the girls to show up for a beer bust. It seemed that RFK was always teasing Ted about being a member of “The Senate Club.” Reportedly, he would sometimes even walk up behind him when he was speaking on the floor of the Senate and whisper, “Is this how you become a member of the Club?” or something like that. Still, Ted would frequently give as good as he got—poking fun at his older brother about being the new kid on the block or about his inability to sit still.
First Great Sorrow: My Years with Robert F. Kennedy by Donna Chaffee
