“I think it is very important for a person to do his homework,” explains Manchester.
“There’s nothing more insulting than to ask a man, like a President of the United States, a question that he’s answered many times before. Then he’s likely to dismiss you. So what you want to ask are the questions he’s never been asked before, questions that show that you have a great familiarity with his life. And then he’s likely to respect you and be interested in the exchange, the colloquy.” In preparing for his presidential interview, Manchester went through a list of the appointments that President Kennedy had made with special assistants and cabinet advisers. He found that over 80 percent of them were within a few years of the President’s age. So he asked Kennedy if he were a “generation chauvinist.” “Now, he’d never thought of this,” says Manchester, “but he liked the idea and he played with it, and it was entertaining for him. A really first-rate interview with an articulate man can be fascinating for him. And if he is fascinated, then it will go on and you will learn more from him. It all depends on how much time you spend in advance.”
