Matthews gives ‘Hardball’ look at Kennedy brothers

McClatchy Newspapers

“The Kennedy Brothers” is a reasonably complete — and now, timely — overview of the careers of three famous brothers, with a nod to Joe Jr. as well, all within a brisk 47 minutes or so. The show airs at 7 p.m. today on MSNBC.

Chris Matthews, “Hardball” host and longtime Kennedy observer, takes a not entirely uncritical look at the political dynasty that began with Joe Sr., and came to a generational end with Teddy Kennedy, who died late Tuesday night after battling cancer. Matthews covers vast and well-trod territory — the ambassador’s push to get his firstborn son elected president, then, after Joe Jr.’s death in the war, his push to get the second-born son in the White House; JFK’s circumvention of politics-as-usual, by targeting states rich in Catholic votes; his embrace of TV; the battle for civil rights; Bobby’s eventual ascendancy and tragic death; and, finally, Teddy’s fitful and failed attempt to become president. Matthews gets lots of help from his friends, with extensive interviews with former CBS/NBC anchor Roger Mudd, Kennedy advisers Ted Sorensen, Bill Wilson, Frank Mankiewicz, historian/NBC News contributor Doris Kearns Goodwin; former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and many others.

“I tried to do something that showed how they did it [win elections],” said Matthews — who published a well-regarded history of the Kennedy/Nixon rivalry in 1996 — in an interview. “I wanted to do something that was a little more technical than sentimental, though it does have some clear sentiment in it. They were all patriotic guys; they all served their country.”

There’s not much new here, but Matthews and his producers have pulled together a rich trove of documentary footage, including an old audio recording JFK made the year before his death. While dictating his memoirs, he confided that, when he first ran for Congress in 1946, “I was an outsider really. I’d never lived very much in the [11th Congressional district].” Matthews also has a rare — he says unprecedented for TV — interview with JFK’s media adviser, Bill Wilson.

Great stories always bear repeating, and it’s just about impossible to botch the retelling of one of the grandest in American political history. “The Kennedy Brothers” may lack original or at least startling perspective — we already know this one in our sleep — but Matthews and company do a solid, skillful and intelligent job of telling this oft-told story once again.