Shortly after 10 p.m., press secretary Pierre Salinger stepped before reporters in a makeshift pressroom at the Statler Hotel. For the first time he acknowledged that Patrick had a breathing ailment, identifying it the way doctors did, as “idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome.” Playing down the seriousness, he explained that the condition was not uncommon in premature infants. But he acknowledged it was “a cause for concern.” He told reporters it would be four days before doctors could “make a final diagnosis.” A reporter pressed Salinger on the outlook for the baby: “Is it on the danger list?” “I would not say that,” Salinger replied. “Would anybody else?” the reporter ventured. “Well,” Salinger snapped, “nobody that I talked to has.” He then revealed that Patrick was baptized soon after birth, prompting a reporter to ask why so quickly. “I would rather not comment on that,” Salinger answered. In his suite at the Ritz-Carlton, Jack called Jackie twice around midnight. Wishing to keep her spirits up, he tilted his words toward the positive. “The President assured Mrs. …