John F. Kennedy

I have just received the following wire from my generous Daddy: 'Dear Jack, Don't buy a single vote more than is necessary. I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a landslide.'

Mothers may be wrong, but they are never in doubt.

I'm the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it.

I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came.

The United States is not going to be run by a group of men who have been trained in a foreign country and who do not understand the United States.

I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.

I am an idealist without illusions.

My father always told me that all businessmen were sons-of-bitches, but I never believed it till now.

A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures – and that is the basis of all human morality.

I am not satisfied that the people of this country know the full story of the dangers we face.

It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.

We stand on the edge of a new frontier.

I know there are some in this country who fear that in order to protect our freedom, we must restrict it. This is not the American way.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

There is no easy answer, but we must try to find one.