August 27, 2008 'The Making of a President' Play video

(NECN: Brad Puffer, Boston, Mass.) - What gives someone the drive to want to become president of the United States? A new exhibit at the JFK Library in Boston hopes to answer that question.

The making of a president is all about John F. Kennedy's early years, from his first trip to Washington, D.C. at age 12. Very tired, he writes his mother, going to the Capitol tomorrow, and then his journals from his trip to Europe in 1937. "The general impression seems to be there will not be a war in the near future." It's a journal never before seen by the public.

James Wagner is the library exhibit specialist. He hopes the timing of the exhibit with this year's political elections will bring many here who want to see just what makes someone able and driven to become president.

Barack Obama often discusses his own world travels and childhood. John McCain often draws upon his military service. John F. Kennedy discussed both. The story of the sinking of his naval vessel in 1943, even used in political advertising, and it shows how Kennedy's road to the White House began as the son of an ambassador. Then, in government classes at Harvard -- even though he received a D in history during his sophomore year.

It is all a part of Kennedy's life not nearly as discussed or on display as his time in office.

While this year's exhibit will end in November, this exhibit on John F. Kennedy, the Making of a President, will be on display through the summer of 2009.