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Kennedy-Sorensen Dems Wouldn’t Recognize Obama-Reid-Pelosi

By on 11.2.10 @ 6:07AM

Ted Sorensen has passed away and with him, a more grand and patriotic liberal political tradition.

The legendary speechwriter, Ted Sorensen, passed away Sunday at the ripe old age of eight-two. The Democratic left, of course, will celebrate Sorensen as the man who gave literary life to JFK, Camelot and the New Frontier.

Conservatives, too, however, should sing Sorensen’s praises. The man was a truly great speechwriter whose work celebrated American greatness and American exceptionalism.

This is praiseworthy and important. Especially today, when our political leaders have consciously chosen to set America on a path of national decline, and when our president declares that he really doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism, it is helpful to hearken back to a more grand and patriotic liberal political tradition which believed, as did Ronald Reagan and the burgeoning conservative movement, that America has a rendezvous with destiny.

The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly…

I think we have to revitalize our society. I think we have to demonstrate to the people of the world that we’re determined in this free country of ours to be first — not first if, not first but, not first when — but first…

We chose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard: Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our skills and talents. Because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one we intend to win, and the others, too…

I think the question before the American people is: Are we doing as much as we can do? Are we as strong as we should be? Are we as strong as we must be if we are going to maintain our independence, and if we are going to maintain and hold out the hand of friendship to those who look to us for assistance: to those who look to us for survival?

I should make it very clear that I do not think we’re doing enough; that I am not satisfied as an American with the progress that we are making. This is a great country, but I think it could be a greater country, and this is a powerful country but I think it could be a more powerful country.

I’m not satisfied to have 50 percent of our steel mill capacity unused. I’m not satisfied when the United States has last year the lowest rate of economic growth of any major industrialized society in the world.

I’m not satisfied when we have over nine-billion-dollars’ worth of food, some of it rotting even though there is a hungry world, and even though four million Americans wait every month for a food package from the government which averages five cents a day per individual.

I’m not satisfied when the Soviet Union is turning out twice as many scientists and engineers as we are. I’m not satisfied when many of our teachers are inadequately paid or when our children go to school on part-time shifts. I think we should have an educational system second to none.

If Ted Sorensen didn’t write these encomiums to American greatness and American daring, he at least had a hand — a strong hand — in crafting them.

“Some who reported on the president [John F. Kennedy],” notes the Washington Post, “maintained, perhaps facetiously, that Mr. Sorensen dwelled within Kennedy’s mind and was sufficiently familiar with every detail of its workings to enable him to finish sentences that the president began.”

The contrast between Kennedy-Sorensen liberals of old and modern-day leftists is perhaps most striking on issues of defense and foreign policy. Kennedy and Sorensen, of course, famously declared, in Kennedy’s First Inaugural Address, that America would

pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

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About the Author

 

John R. Guardiano blogs at www.ResCon1.com, and you can follow him on Twitter: @ResCon1.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (39) |

Doctor Right| 11.2.10 @ 8:32AM

Speeches are nice, but actions speak louder than words.

Take our current President, for example. He is said to be a talented orator (although I myself have never bought into this myth - he's dull and didactic...but I digress), and see where this has gotten us?

John Guardiano| 11.2.10 @ 8:39AM

Doctor Right,

Obama is not a great orator, sad to say. And his speeches are not great or memorable.

History will remember Obama as the first black or African-American president. His speeches, however, have very little staying power, unfortunately.

Moreover, especially today, in this information age, words do constitute a type or form of action, I think. Rhetoric thus can't be so easily dismissed. Words matter.

Regards,
John

Louis Jenkins| 11.2.10 @ 8:58AM

Words do matter. Our president is a showman, of sorts. In the past the joints sessions of congress were hushed when the president spoke. Now we have Chief Justices, members of congress, all speaking back at the president. The level of contempt for the Wun is growing by leaps and bounds everyday and dignitaries are in the forefront. I could not imagine such when JFK or Reagan spoke. But times have changed. The Wun speaks Rhetoric. JFK spoke on a higher plane.

Howard| 11.2.10 @ 9:13AM

Sorensen was a big time liberal many years ago, not just during Reagan or Bush years. In fact he was going to be Jimmy Carter's nominee for CIA Director. However, his policy stances were very liberal and the GOP would have blocked the nomination. Sadly, we got the insufferable Stansfield Turner instead. Not that I liked Sorensen's politics at all, but, he would have been no worse than Turner.

crookedwren| 11.2.10 @ 9:26AM

For the most part, Obama speaks like a grad student in the classroom -- one that believes he has the right answers, and if the students would only listen and circle the right answers, use the correct words in the essay, then the world would definitely be cured of its ills.

Unfortunately, akin to the graduate student, he talks too much and puts many of his so-called students in a stupor.

Akin to the grad student, steeped in Marxist doctrines, he looks down on those of us who reject socialism, Marxism, Mao, Stalin, Lenin, and all their ilk. We are, he believes, uneducated (wrong) or greedy capitalists (as if "greedy" were a permanent part of the word "capitalist"). The two -- greedy and capitalist -- are NOT synonymous.

Also, akin to the grad student, he hasn't had enough experience outside of the heady, often ego-driven world of academia to know that his "answers" are insufficient and unworkable in the world beyond those ivory towers.

Unfortunately, he has shown too often and too overtly his bias toward socialism/Communism as well as his willingness to talk "like a Muslim" (possibly because of a sentimental, rather than ideological, affection for his years when he was deeply steeped in the exotic sounds and quaint customs of Islam in Indonesia). This trend toward revealing the "real" Obama in fits and starts by speaking off-script has resulted in alarm in the populace and a tele-prompter in every room where Obama will be speaking to more than two or three individuals.

The impassioned Obama only appears when he's with his true constituents -- the ACORN-studded Union thugs and their (sometimes unwitting) accomplices -- some of the less-than-aware rank and file. I must say, when he's in his stride, his voice often takes on a slightly southern glide. Odd, since to my knowledge, he's never lived down here.

He's no JFK, that's certain, however much they tried to connect his Michelle Antoinette wife to Jackie.

Sheila| 11.2.10 @ 10:14AM

Well said, crookedwren. Like most affirmative action blacks, Obama speaks to impress rather than express. Whatever his failings or myths (and they were myriad), Kennedy was an unabashed American patriot and Sorensen was instrumental in giving voice to his policies and politics. For the Democrats to equate Obama to Kennedy and the Wookie to Jackie was beyond hubris - it was sublimely ridiculous.

loulou| 11.2.10 @ 11:09AM

I don't know that Kennedy was an unabashed American patriot. Does a patriot agree to vote fraud to get elected?

Aren't we done yet with all this Kennedy worship?

Sheila| 11.2.10 @ 11:43AM

loulou - Kennedy was most definitely the beneficiary of voter fraud; however, he most definitely preached American exceptionalism and did not consciously, actively, and malevolently work to undermine this Republic, unlike the Won. Acknowledging that Kennedy was to the right of many of today's Republicans is hardly Kennedy worship.

loulou| 11.2.10 @ 12:32PM

Of course Kennedy was better than the Won. Even Carter has a chance to be better than the Won.
My point is that Kennedy participated and benefited in voter fraud and that in itself undermined this Republic.

hdhouse | 11.2.10 @ 11:19AM

"pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

nice words. the next two words are Viet Nam.

the entire article is little more than a partisan harrangue and has about as much to do about nothing as a Peggy Noonan 1000 pinpricks of dull light.

http://opusonemedia.blogspot.c.....-dull.html

John Guardiano| 11.2.10 @ 11:56AM

HdHouse,

Of course, Kennedy didn't execute the Vietnam War; Lyndon Johnson did. So you can blame Johnson, not Kennedy, for Vietnam.

True, Kennedy sent advisers to Vietnam. However, Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 -- well before America really began fighting the war in earnest.

But I understand your point: rhetoric has consequences. Fair enough. But fighting the Vietnam War was not the problem; how we executed the war was.

Moreover, my reading of American history demonstrates to me that the United States and the world have paid a horrific price for American inaction on the world stage. America is a force for good internationally.

Finally, the idea that I am a partisan Democrat is laughable.

Regards,
John

hdhouse | 1.2.11 @ 4:31AM

fighting the Vietnam War was indeed the problem. That Westmoreland used the wrong set of tactics and made gross errors has been well hashed. That we got into the fool's errand in the first place actually dated back to Eisenhower and Kennedy had much to do with setting the stage and writing the script that Johnson was nearly forced to follow.

No one ever, I mean ever, thought you to be a partisan Democrat and if I left that impression then I either mis-wrote or you mis-read.

JmsA| 11.2.10 @ 9:57PM

Don't forget the Bay of Pigs failure, leading to the communists to consolidate their power in Cuba, followed by the 1962 missile crisis therein, and the spread of socialism throughout Latin America, wherefrom they come to this country fully indoctrinated socialists.

JmsA| 11.2.10 @ 10:01PM

Don't forget the CIA led, and no doubt approved by JFK, overthrow of South Vietnamese President Diem--and the disaster that ensued.

John| 11.2.10 @ 12:20PM

Obama is stuck in the lessons he was taught at Punahou School, Econ 101 means the US has an unlimited Visa Card, History a very leftist slant, I doubt he managed to graduate with higher than a 1.8 GPA wherever he went to school or college, a dufus then and a dufus now. I was there, I know who he is. Punahou Class of 77

JP| 11.2.10 @ 12:33PM

I know many conservatives have warmed to the JFK thing in recent decades. Count me out. The entire Kennedy clan was cancer on American politics. JFK had no business being a national politician. Many biographers have documented the lies, falsehoods, deceptions, and back stabbing the Kennedy family took part in in order to propel thier chosen sons into the Beltway power circles. Sorenson was part of that deception. Most historians now admit that it was Sorenson who wrote Profiles in Courage, the book that got JFK a pulitzer. Sorenson was a gifted speechwriter who possessed excellent political insights. But, so did Goebbels.

Over they years, Sorenson as well as other Kennedy insiders shed thier enthnic morality, and belief in American civic culture and history. By 1980, most were committed Progressives of the European model. Sorenson was no exception.

May he rest in peace.

Bruce| 11.2.10 @ 12:58PM

Oh I loved that Kennedy ! I can still see that nice, tight rear. Oh the memories, the fantasies .

PattyMor| 11.2.10 @ 2:52PM

Oh, I think John Kennedy would be quite pleased
with all the union money supporting DemoCrats.
After all, it was Kennedy who signed the executive order that allowed the federal workforce to unionize.

Behind the winning smile, was a win at all costs
guy, who willing accepted the vote-stuffing provided by the Chicago DemoCrat machine.

Will any Republican president has the guts to resind the executive order? Hmmmmm

John Guardiano| 11.2.10 @ 3:07PM

Friends, Commenters, Countrymen: Lend me your ears!

Your points about Kennedy's record as president are well taken. But please note that I am not talking here, really, about Kennedy's presidential record.

Instead, I am talking about his rhetoric, which often summoned deeply conservative ideas -- ideas well rooted in the American founding and the American experience.

Regards,
John

RCV| 11.2.10 @ 3:19PM

One of the more amusing political phenonema is the practice of Republicans pointing to Democrats of thirty years earlier and now suddenly discovering their virtues. When FDR was President, he was excoriated as a "communist"; 35 years later, Reagan loved to quote him endlessly, and Gingrich in 1994 sang his praises. Truman was vilified while in office for "protecting communists" and "selling out to Stalin". Thirty years later he was hailed by Republicans for his toughness and common sense. When Jack Kennedy ran for President, and while he was in office, he was again vilified as a liberal do-gooder communist. Now he is praised by the GOP for his pro-American oratory. The GOP fought tooth and nail against Medicare, and now pretend they're its staunchest defenders! They vilified Martin Luther King Jr. as a communist agitator, and now hold him up in Glenn Beck rallies as a saint.

Republicans are always Democrats-of-thirty-years-ago. In 2035, they'll be looking back at Barrack Obama and telling us how they wish Democrats could just be like him.

skip| 11.2.10 @ 8:12PM

R(epulsive repugnant)
C(orrupt values)
V(omiter)

RCV| 11.2.10 @ 10:00PM

Glad you found a new hobby, skippy. It will keep you from self-abuse and other sins.

RCV| 11.4.10 @ 2:43PM

It's gone! My head, it's gone!

simon templar| 11.8.10 @ 3:16PM

Yeah, by then the Dems will be OPENLY running communist candidates and openly celebrating May Day as a federally funded day off....then the so-called Republicans (that is your washington elite) will be socialist...the rest of us will either be shot, living in gulags, reeducation camps, or living in equal poverty with our other comrade citizens. Another reason why we need to rise up and fight for our constitutional federalst Republic given to us by our non-socialist, free enterprise, enlightened founding fathers before we loose it forever. Anyone with me? Then, Let's roll!

Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 3:50PM

The other side of this is that you conscripted young boys to die in a lost cause in 'Nam for your property and power-- not the Constitution.

Liars, Pharisees.

mames| 11.2.10 @ 4:03PM

Kennedy et all believed they could keep a lid on the socialist genie. Obama et all knew better and let her fly.

Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 4:36PM

Pharisee.

Alan Brooks| 11.2.10 @ 4:35PM

Yes, but now you Grand Old Plodders will botch it up again, in 2012.
20 years you wasted already! So fuck you.

skip| 11.2.10 @ 8:12PM

If unintelligence and dishonesty was a contagious fatal disease you would be responsible for seven billion deaths.

Alan Brooks| 11.4.10 @ 2:44PM

I'm a tool of George Soros. Really!

Audrey | 11.3.10 @ 1:11AM

Thank you for such a great article on Sorensen. What a brilliant man. He was such a wonderful representative of the strength of America, which I believe we can have again. Kennedy will always be one of my favorite Presidents and it is a tragedy we lost him so soon. I have been reading a very good book about that time in history called, "The Kennedy Detail," by Gerald Blaine, who was one of Kennedy's secret service agents. What really stood out to me in this book is that the author points out that in 1963, about 40 men were responsible for protecting the president and his family around the clock. 34 agents for JFK, two agents for Jackie Kennedy, and three agents for Caroline and John, Jr. Today, the President has hundreds of men and women, supported by thousands in the field and in specialty positions to make sure he and his family are protected. It's a very eye opening read. You can check out the author's website here:

http://www.kennedydetail.com/

John Guardiano| 11.4.10 @ 10:01AM

Thanks, Audrey. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece and will check out the link.

Regards,
John

General Summerall| 11.3.10 @ 1:59AM

I have been pondering that the Camelot Era(and the legendary Camelot failed) should be referred to as the Cleopatra Era(named after the movie). Lots of news coverage about a dubious expensive project, that when it finally appeared was Not So Much At All.

JTHC| 11.3.10 @ 2:19AM

I have to admit that I've been rather anti-Kennedy in the past, but it's largely a matter of reflexive anti-Democratism. When you look at his record, it's hard to complain. The man was unabashedly and unapologetically pro-America. He cut taxes by a massive amount. And he would have never gone to a foreign country to apologize for America. We can disagree about the finer points of political ideology, but in the end he was what a President should be, an American leader.

Simon Templar| 11.8.10 @ 3:04PM

I think the point of this article has been lost in the stream of action, reaction with a little liberal trolling thrown in for good measure. The idea here is just how much the democratic party in this country has drifted to the Left and european socialism over the last century. This goes for the so-called GOP to a lesser degree. The last 10 years testify to this fact. We know have senators and journalist boldly claiming that they are socialist on national television and screaming that they intend to take over all our industries. When one thinks back about democrats like JFK with all his flaws and liberal ideas about governments role and contrast this to the times we live in now, any sane person is aghast and sees just how far we have fallen. So, we better wake up and fight for what remains of our republic before we loose it. No, history wll find this president as the obamination and deception that he is...of course that depends if we haven even slipped farther down or have taken our nation back to its original intent.

Adult toys | 7.4.11 @ 3:43AM

three drunk friends made a bet whoever can make their wives scream the longest during sex win 1000.next day when they met.
　　first guy:I made love to my wife 2.5hours and she screaming for 1.5hours;
　　second guy:I licked my wife for 2hours and she was screaming whole time and even 1/2hour after I was done;
　　third guy:that’s nothing,I made love to my wife 10mins and I came twice,wipe my dick on the curtain and my wife still screming at me up to now!

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