I did not know (Or I forgot, whichever is more damning.) that that phrase came from Kennedy's American U speech! It reads beautifully, doesn't it? That is Ted Sorenson through and through. That is how he wrote, the parallel construction, historical references, the brilliant creativity in phrase-making. And JFK could really deliver those speeches. JFK was a brilliant guyt oo and very well read. He and Sorenson had some kind of mind meld going on.
I know I had never seen that speech before. There's only a three minute-plus segment of it on the Kennedy Library site, I suppose that is all there is. I had never seen Kennedy like that before. Except for the little ad-libbed humorous aside at the beginning, a JFK trademark, he was sober, serious without being grave, his tone was understated, calming, his tone was as generous-spirited as the text. Peaceful! That's what it is, peaceful. If you have a chance and are curious take a look. http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/BWC7I4C9QUmLG9J6I8oy8w.aspx
If you have a chance take a look and contrast that speech with some of his other famous ones, like the Inaugural Address and especially the "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. He crackled with alpha-male "vigah" in both. His most memorable line from the inaugural is delivered aggressively as a command, "Ask NOT what your country can do for you..." Okay, okay! Sheesh. And in Berlin he sneers his contempt at the Soviet Union, "But we never had to build a WALL..." Even though there was a slight delay in the crowd's reaction while the translator translated into German he still couldn't finish that sentence before the crowd went wild! Holy hell, they loved him in Berlin that day. "KEH-NA-DEE! KEH-NA-DEE!"
At American U he be like:
It was a practiced delivery, Kennedy obviously had practiced that speech and had matched his tone to Sorenson's text. I imagine the scene in the Kremlin:
What this man Kennedy? Eight months ago he want blow us to moon. Now he want give us handjob?
Khruschev noticed. He called it the greatest speech by an American president since Roosevelt. Didn't save Khruschev. Khruschev was out too far by then. He was overthrown in 1964.
I know I had never seen that speech before. There's only a three minute-plus segment of it on the Kennedy Library site, I suppose that is all there is. I had never seen Kennedy like that before. Except for the little ad-libbed humorous aside at the beginning, a JFK trademark, he was sober, serious without being grave, his tone was understated, calming, his tone was as generous-spirited as the text. Peaceful! That's what it is, peaceful. If you have a chance and are curious take a look. http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/BWC7I4C9QUmLG9J6I8oy8w.aspx
If you have a chance take a look and contrast that speech with some of his other famous ones, like the Inaugural Address and especially the "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. He crackled with alpha-male "vigah" in both. His most memorable line from the inaugural is delivered aggressively as a command, "Ask NOT what your country can do for you..." Okay, okay! Sheesh. And in Berlin he sneers his contempt at the Soviet Union, "But we never had to build a WALL..." Even though there was a slight delay in the crowd's reaction while the translator translated into German he still couldn't finish that sentence before the crowd went wild! Holy hell, they loved him in Berlin that day. "KEH-NA-DEE! KEH-NA-DEE!"
At American U he be like:
It was a practiced delivery, Kennedy obviously had practiced that speech and had matched his tone to Sorenson's text. I imagine the scene in the Kremlin:
What this man Kennedy? Eight months ago he want blow us to moon. Now he want give us handjob?
Khruschev noticed. He called it the greatest speech by an American president since Roosevelt. Didn't save Khruschev. Khruschev was out too far by then. He was overthrown in 1964.
