Leroy Neiman Sketchbook

It was at a Dinner the night before the Robert Kennedy tennis tournament and Senator Ted Kennedy, Art Buchwald and ABC executive Roone Arledge were seated at the same table, having a fine time. They're all old friends. Arledge was smoking a grand Havana and Kennedy suddenly reached across the table, snatched the half-smoked cigar and settled back to enjoy it himself. Caught without my sketch pad, I captured the moment on a napkin. There was something about the way Kennedy commandeered the cigar that made me think: Here's a man who has decided to run for the Presidency. You'll notice that Kennedy appears to be staring into the middle distance. He often seems this way. I've found that most powerful men are what I call spatial viewers. They're always either lost in thought or scanning a room to make sure they aren't missing anything important.