General Discussion

“Mr. SPECTER. What decision had been made as to whether to have an open car in Dallas?
Mr. O'DONNELL. The. decision had been made to have an open--if the weather was good, he would ride in an open car.
Mr. SPECTER. And do you recall who made that decision?
Mr. O'DONNELL. Well, I would make that decision under normal circumstances. But it was almost an automatic decision, that whenever the weather was clear, he preferred to ride in an open car.
The motorcade through Dallas was intended to expose the President to as many people as possible. Here are some more quotes from O'donnell's testimony before the Warren Commission…

Mr. SPECTER. Did he enjoy that exposure, strictly as a personal matter?
Mr. O'DONNELL. He enjoyed it very much. The President--liked people, and he liked to mingle with people.

Mr. O'DONNELL. Well, we had a motorcade wherever we went. Particularly when we went to a large city, the purpose of going there was to give the President as much exposure to the people of Dallas and vice versa, the people of Dallas to the President, as possible.

So he he felt it was a duty of the Presidency to expose himself to the public.
Larry O'Brien was another of Kennedy's closest aides who had run his campaigns since 1956 testified to the President's known preference to ride in open cars when possible. From his testimony…

Mr. ADAMS. While we are on that subject, just to digress for a moment, what was his attitude toward riding in open cars?
Mr. O'BRIEN. It was certainly his preference. He had always expressed a view that in our democracy a President should, whenever possible, be exposed to the people. And I think, also, he felt the people should be exposed to him. He always wanted to have the closest possible contact with people. And in that context his preference certainly at all times was an open car.

Mr. O'BRIEN. But certainly we were totally aware of his desires in that area. And this had, of course, been his position not only in the United States but in trips outside the country.“