2007.10.30: October 30, 2007: Headlines: Presidents - Kennedy: Election2008: Greensboro News & Record: Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen says a candidate with idealism and ability to galvanize people could invigorate America

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Library: Peace Corps: Election 2008: Peace Corps: Election 2008: Newest Stories: 2007.10.30: October 30, 2007: Headlines: Presidents - Kennedy: Election2008: Greensboro News & Record: Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen says a candidate with idealism and ability to galvanize people could invigorate America

By Admin1 (admin) (151.196.35.136) on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 11:35 am: Edit Post

Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen says a candidate with idealism and ability to galvanize people could invigorate America

Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen says a candidate with idealism and ability to galvanize people could invigorate America

When the missile crisis came in 1962, Kennedy met often and sought opinions and options. He also said Kennedy took full responsibility for the Bay of Pigs; his apology lacked ambiguity. Citing the war in Iraq and the lack of diplomacy in foreign matters, Sorensen called the Bush presidency "the most reckless of my lifetime." Asked about Kennedy's own Iraq of sorts — Vietnam — Sorensen said Kennedy made clear intentions to bring home 1,600 American soldiers in South Vietnam. Sorensen is convinced the war wouldn't have escalated as it did under Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded the slain Kennedy in 1963. Read all about it next May when Sorensen publishes his memoirs, six years of writing. As for Obama, "I think he can win. I'm tired of losing," Sorensen said of Democratic losses in seven of the past 10 presidential elections. He realizes many have backed the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton, but Sorensen remembers Kennedy starting as an underdog. Conventional wisdom at the time was that he couldn't win because he was Catholic, too young (not yet 40), inexperienced and lacking support of Democratic honchos. He said Obama, 46, is hearing similar words: too young, inexperienced and he's black. Sorensen said he understands young people are dispirited, disillusioned and cynical about politics, but a candidate with idealism and ability to galvanize people could invigorate America. It happened with Kennedy, a time when 60 percent of the Harvard and Harvard law grads wanted to enter public service. Sadly, he says, it's now three percent.

Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen says a candidate with idealism and ability to galvanize people could invigorate America

Kennedy speechwriter speaks of Camelot

By Jim Schlosser
Staff Writer

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 3:00 am

The man who wrote many words, or honed them, for John F. Kennedy said Camelot was not a mystical society where perfection ruled.

"But it was a brief shining moment," said Ted Sorensen, legislative and administrative assistant and speechwriter to Kennedy.

Back then, a group of people came together "from both parties who were dedicated to the best interests of the country."

Sorensen was one of the young, Ivy League educated, idealistic and vibrant people drawn to Kennedy's Washington, an era dubbed Camelot.

He sees a young man running for president today who reminds him in ways of Kennedy: Barack Obama, whom he supports for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Here Monday night for an event sponsored by the Friends of UNCG Libraries, Sorensen said earlier that under Kennedy, the groundwork came for space exploration, the environmental movement, civil rights, help for the disabled and mentally ill, Peace Corps and other positives.

Sorensen told a gathering of students and reporters they wouldn't be alive if not for Kennedy.

Sorensen, 79, of poor eyesight but of keen mind who still travels and writes, said he has "not the slightest doubt" world destruction would have resulted had not Kennedy persuaded Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to remove Russian missiles from Cuba.

Kennedy prevailed, Sorensen said, not by acting "tough" but through diplomacy. Deals were made: Kennedy promised Khrushchev in return for removing Soviet missiles, the U.S. would take away its missiles in Turkey aimed at Russia — something Kennedy wanted to do anyway.

Sorensen said Kennedy's coolness was influenced by lessons learned in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in early 1961. New to the presidency, Kennedy "was unduly impressed," Sorensen said, "with people wearing a lot of ribbons on their uniforms."

When the missile crisis came in 1962, Kennedy met often and sought opinions and options.

He also said Kennedy took full responsibility for the Bay of Pigs; his apology lacked ambiguity.

Citing the war in Iraq and the lack of diplomacy in foreign matters, Sorensen called the Bush presidency "the most reckless of my lifetime."

Asked about Kennedy's own Iraq of sorts — Vietnam — Sorensen said Kennedy made clear intentions to bring home 1,600 American soldiers in South Vietnam.

Sorensen is convinced the war wouldn't have escalated as it did under Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded the slain Kennedy in 1963.

Read all about it next May when Sorensen publishes his memoirs, six years of writing.

As for Obama, "I think he can win. I'm tired of losing," Sorensen said of Democratic losses in seven of the past 10 presidential elections.

He realizes many have backed the candidacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton, but Sorensen remembers Kennedy starting as an underdog.

Conventional wisdom at the time was that he couldn't win because he was Catholic, too young (not yet 40), inexperienced and lacking support of Democratic honchos.

He said Obama, 46, is hearing similar words: too young, inexperienced and he's black.

Sorensen said he understands young people are dispirited, disillusioned and cynical about politics, but a candidate with idealism and ability to galvanize people could invigorate America.

It happened with Kennedy, a time when 60 percent of the Harvard and Harvard law grads wanted to enter public service.

Sadly, he says, it's now three percent.

Of words he wrote for Kennedy, including help with a 1961 Kenan Stadium speech in Chapel Hill, Sorensen's favorite is the 1963 American University commencement address for world peace.

The president (or Sorensen) said, "Is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights — the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation; the right to breathe air as nature provided it; the right of future generations to a healthy existence?"

Contact Jim Schlosser at 373-7081 or jschlosser@news-recod.com



Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: October, 2007; Presidents - Kennedy; Election 2008





When this story was posted in December 2008, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers RSS Feed

 Site Index Search PCOL with Google Contact PCOL Recent Posts Bulletin Board Open Discussion RPCV Directory Register


Director Ron Tschetter:  The PCOL Interview Date: December 9 2008 No: 1296 Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.

PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director Date: December 2 2008 No: 1288 PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director
Honduras RPCV Jon Carson, 33, presided over thousands of workers as national field director for the Obama campaign and said the biggest challenge -- and surprise -- was the volume of volunteer help, including more than 15,000 "super volunteers," who were a big part of what made Obama's campaign so successful. PCOL endorses Jon Carson as the man who can revitalize the Peace Corps, bring it into the internet age, and meet Obama's goal of doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011.

December 14, 2008: This Month's Top Stories  Date: December 14 2008 No: 1305 December 14, 2008: This Month's Top Stories
Michael Adlerstein to make UN green 21 Nov
Harris Wofford writes: America at a turning point 14 Nov
Margaret Krome writes: Obama win shows power of idealism 11 Nov
Joseph Acaba to fly on February Shuttle Mission 11 Dec
Mary Matterer caught in Bangkok protests 6 Dec
Gen. Victor Renuart Jr. son served in Peace Corps 6 Dec
Kim Kohler opposes mega-projects in Guatemala 5 Dec
Gretchen Snoeyenbos' small town in Mali 5 Dec
Tim Shriver Calls for 'Dept of Development and Service' 4 Dec
Phil Lilienthal brings camp to kids in South Africa 3 Dec
New Peace Corps for Kids Web Site 3 Dec
Ilene Gelbaum brings infants into the world 26 Nov
Jonathan Zimmerman writes: Nepal's ban on private schools 26 Nov
George Packer writes: Will Obama Change? 25 Nov
Aly and Buddy Shanks exhibit African art 23 Nov
Luke King heads Mercy Corps in Congo 23 Nov
Echoes of JFK unavoidable in Obama Presidency 23 Nov
Joseph Opala Connects Africa to Gullah Community 21 Nov
William Yeatman writes: Coal in Kyrgyzstan 20 Nov
Doyle may become next PC Director 14 Nov
Michael O'Hanlon writes: How to Win in Afghanistan 14 Nov

New: More Stories from October and November 2008.

Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own Date: October 23 2008 No: 1279 Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own
Peace Corps has withdrawn all volunteers from Bolivia because of "growing instability" and the expulsion of US Ambassador Philip Goldberg after Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the American government of inciting violence in the country. This is not the first controversy surrounding Goldberg's tenure as US ambassador to Bolivia. Latest: Some volunteers have returned to Bolivia on their own to complete their projects.

PCVs Evacuated from Georgia Date: August 19 2008 No: 1254 PCVs Evacuated from Georgia
The Peace Corps has announced that all Volunteers and trainees serving in the Republic of Georgia are safe and they have been temporarily relocated to neighboring Armenia. Read the analysis by one RPCV on how Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili believed that he could launch a lightning assault on South Ossetia and reclaim the republic without substantial grief from Moscow and that Saakashvili's statements once the war began demonstrated that he expected real Western help in confronting Russia.



Read the stories and leave your comments.








Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Greensboro News & Record

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Presidents - Kennedy; Election2008

PCOL39632
53


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: