Transition of Power: The Presidency Page #5

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NARRATOR:
Johnson insists

on taking the oath of office

before Air Force One

leaves Dallas.

The chief justice

of the Supreme Court

traditionally presides

over the oath of office

at an inauguration,

but under the law, any federal

judge can administer the oath.

Johnson calls

an old Dallas friend,

Federal Judge Sarah Hughes,

to swear him in.

Outside the plane,

the hearse carrying

Kennedy's body arrives.

Secret Service agents

have purchased a casket

from a local funeral home,

but it's too wide to fit

through the cabin door,

so ultimately, the ornate metal

handles are ripped off.

The slain president is brought

on board Air Force One,

accompanied by his widow,

Jackie.

Johnson asks that

Jacqueline Kennedy accompany him

while he's taking

the oath of office,

out of respect

for the now former first lady,

and to show the nation

and the world

that there is

this transition of power

from Kennedy to Johnson.

It's very symbolic.

NARRATOR:
President Kennedy's

photographer,

Cecil Stoughton,

chronicles the moment.

The photo reveals details

of a quickly improvised

inauguration ceremony.

There is no Bible on board,

but a Catholic prayer book is

found in the plane's bedroom.

A Dictaphone is grabbed

off Kennedy's desk

to record the historic moment.

Although he had color film,

the photographer captures

the moment in black and white.

It's faster to process,

and the new president wants to

share this image of stability

with the world

as quickly as possible.

2:
47 p.m., just two hours

after the assassination,

Air Force One

takes off from Dallas.

At Andrews Air Force Base

in Washington, D.C.,

Johnson waits

until the casket is removed

before making his first speech

as the nation's leader.

JOHNSON:
This is a sad time

for all people.

We have suffered a loss

that cannot be weighed.

For me, it is a deep,

personal tragedy.

I know that the world

shares the sorrow

that Mrs. Kennedy

and her family bears.

I will do my best.

That is all I can do.

I ask for your help and God's.

DOYLE:
In this moment,

Lyndon Johnson was trying

to show the public that, yes,

our president was just killed,

but there is

a transition of power.

I am now the president

and it will now be orderly.

He was able to switch

people's perceptions

from John F. Kennedy

to Lyndon Johnson,

even given

such horrific circumstances.

That's a presidential

transition

we've never seen the likes of

before or since.

(bell tolls)

We are going to appoint

"Mad Dog" Mattis

as our secretary of defense.

NARRATOR:
The transition

of power depends on more

than just the chief executive.

To be successful,

the president must build

an effective administration

of experts and leaders

who will direct

and implement his policies.

GAGE:

The new president begins

to pick those who are really

part of his or her inner circle.

So, you're looking

at the White House staff.

You're looking at the Cabinet,

the people that

the new president

is really going to rely on.

NARRATOR:

The first presidential Cabinet

under George Washington

had only four members.

Today, there are

15 Cabinet positions

who all serve at the pleasure

of the president.

Cabinet members are

part of the hierarchy

of presidential succession,

in the event of death,

resignation,

or impeachment.

The current line of succession

is 17 positions deep,

beginning

with the vice president,

followed by

the speaker of the House

and the president pro tem

of the Senate.

After that,

we hit the Cabinet list,

going in order of Cabinet

positions created.

So, that would start

with secretary of state,

and we'd go all the way

down the list

to director

of homeland security.

NARRATOR:
The line of succession

is clearly spelled out

by the Constitution

and Congress

to ensure continuity

in times of crisis.

But in the real world,

things don't always

go according to plan.

(gunshots)

(people screaming)

Ronald Reagan was shot

by John Hinckley

outside

of the Washington Hilton,

a mile or so

from the White House.

NARRATOR:
"Rawhide" is

President Reagan's code name,

and in these rarely heard

Secret Service radio calls,

the chaos

of the assassination attempt

is captured in real time.

As the motorcade speeds

toward the White House,

Reagan appears to be fine,

until Secret Service Agent

Jerry Parr notices

blood coming

from the president's mouth.

He is rushed to George

Washington University Hospital.

He walks in the front door,

and he collapses,

and he goes

into emergency surgery.

NARRATOR:
At the White House,

members of Reagan's Cabinet

gather in the Situation Room.

The key people in the room are

National Security Advisor

Richard Allen,

Secretary of Treasury

Donald Regan,

Secretary of Defense

Caspar Weinberger,

Secretary of State

Alexander Haig,

James Baker, Chief of Staff,

Press Secretary Larry Speakes.

Conversations in the Situation

Room are usually not recorded,

but Richard Allen decides

to make an exception.

George Bush,

Reagan's vice president,

was in Fort Worth, Texas,

uh, when he finds out

that Reagan has been shot

and that he needs to return to

Washington as soon as possible.

NARRATOR:
The vice president is

on board Air Force Two,

now returning to the capital,

but the plane's communications

are outdated.

Without a direct secure line,

Bush cannot effectively

take control.

Neither the president

nor the vice president

are able to run the government.

The transition of power

is up in the air.

HUGHES:
So, when Ronald Reagan

went under the knife,

he was out,

and the way it should've worked

is George Bush should have

gotten power

because the president

was obviously incapacitated.

But of course,

George Bush was in an airplane,

so that didn't occur.

What did occur

was a very kind of weird scene

at the White House.

WEINBERGER:

Until the vice president

actually arrives here,

the command authority is what?

-HAIG:
Constitutional.

-Hmm?

Well, I...

DOYLE:
Ronald Reagan

is in the operating room.

Nobody knows if he's going

to live or die.

You have the senior officials

of the United States

arguing over who is in charge

of the American government

at this moment

and who has the ability

to command the military.

Secretary of State Alexander

Haig has one point of view;

he's in charge.

Secretary of Defense

Cap Weinberger says,

"No, that's not right,"

and they are in a state

of total confusion.

NARRATOR:
In the middle

of the unfolding crisis,

the Pentagon reports

an increase in the number

of Soviet submarines

off America's East Coast.

DOYLE:

And at this point in time,

nobody knew if this

assassination attempt

was an attack by the Russians

on a new president.

It could have been the first

wave in a bigger attack.

So, if decisions need

to be made right now

about nuclear weapons

and about ordering

military forces on alert,

who's gonna make

these decisions?

Who's going to be the president?

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