Transfixed by the grim story unfolding in the waters off Martha'sVineyard, Mass., Americans from President Clinton on down reactedyesterday with shock and disbelief to the apparent loss of yetanother young and glamorous member of the nation's most famousfamily.
From the far West to the sweltering East, people were glued totelevisions, radios and computer screens, hungry for any scraps ofnews about the continuing search for the small single-engine plane inwhich John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, andher sister, Lauren Bessette, disappeared on Friday night.
Television networks responded much as they did to the death ofPrincess Diana two years ago, preempting regular programming andcalling in news anchors for continuous live coverage. The ChicagoSun-Times printed an extra edition of its Sunday paper on Saturdayafternoon with the headline, 'JFK JR.'S PLANE MISSING.'
President Clinton, who is spending the weekend at Camp David, Md.,learned of the plane's disappearance from his chief of staff, John D.Podesta, at 7 a.m., White House officials said.
Later, Clinton spoke by telephone with Caroline KennedySchlossberg, John Kennedy's sister; with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, hisuncle; and with House and Urban Development Secretary Andrew M.Cuomo, who is married to Kerry Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen.Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), said White House spokesman Joe Lockhart.
'He wanted to let them know he was thinking about them, that we'lldo everything we can and that our thoughts and prayers are withthem,' Lockhart said. 'He is being kept fully informed of theongoing search efforts.'
Vice President Gore called Kennedy 'an extraordinary young man, atthe high noon of his life, who offers the promise of contributing somuch more to our country.'
'At the age of 3,' Gore continued, 'he was the most famous personin the world because with his innocent and brave young heart, hehelped the nation and the world endure some of the hardest hours ofour history. He has carried his legend with enormous grace -- andwith a commitment to live up to his father's legacy and his mother'slove.'
Such was the public's appetite for information that the networksaltered their Saturday sports programming, with ABC switching itsBritish Open golf coverage to fellow Disney-owned ESPN and the MajorLeague Soccer all-star game to ESPN2, the Associated Press reported.
Within a few hours of the first reports of the plane'sdisappearance, speculation about Kennedy's competence as a pilot hadappeared on the Web site of Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge.
At Arlington National Cemetery, a bouquet of yellow flowers laybetween the markers for President John F. Kennedy and his wife,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. On the flower wrapper, someone hadwritten 'Praying for John, Jr.'
Rick Ambrose of Beverly Hills, Calif., laid one long-stemmed redrose on top of each marker. He and his friend, Michael Murray,stepped back to stare at the memorial quietly.
'I thought we should come and pay our respects,' said Ambrose, 36,a sales representative in town for business. 'They're probably themost important American family in terms of projecting America's image. . . vitality, youth and courage.'
Jacqueline Parker, 50, took a 4 1/2-hour bus ride from New York toWashington after she heard the news yesterday. She clutched two pinkroses.
'This is for Jackie,' Parker said, her voice cracking. 'She losther baby today. America lost that little boy.'
Tourists Mary and Greg Alexander of Carthage, Mo., visited thegrave site with their two young children. Cara, 7, was too young tounderstand. She kept asking why her mother was crying. MaryAlexander explained that she felt that children need to learn toadmire people like the Kennedys. 'They've always wanted to dosomething for their country,' she said. 'I wanted to give my kids asense of this.'
In Manhattan, as the thermometer climbed toward 100 degrees,people in tank tops and broad hats paused to read the latest news onKennedy's disappearance as it flashed across the Fox News ticker onSixth Avenue.
At the offices of George magazine on Broadway, staffers enteredthrough a side door, some carrying bags from quickly ended weekendsin the Hamptons. A young woman looked stricken as she hurriedinside, and like the others, declined to comment.
The day passed quietly on Kennedy's TriBeCa block but for thepress staking out the sidewalk across the street. The handful ofresidents from 20 N. Moore St. who left the building during the daydid so quickly and without speaking to reporters.
Doris Denizard, a TriBeCa resident, stared at the front of thebuilding, torn between mourning and hope.
'I remember when his father was killed -- I cried for three days,'Denizard said. 'I gave John F. Kennedy my first vote, because he wasa Democrat, and because he was a Catholic. I will keep my fingerscrossed for his son.'
By late afternoon, a few bundles of wildflowers and roses laytucked on the stoop. Ivana Trnik, a Canadian studying acting inManhattan, was besieged by camera crews as she added a bouquet ofpurple irises. Trnik said that when she first arrived in the cityshe was hoping for a much different Kennedy moment.
'When you're in New York City, you can't not hope to bump intoJohn Kennedy. Just this week, my friend and I bought a book on thebest places to find him. We were going to go to Central Park today,'Trnik said.
