MATT PORTER: Kennedy and Sorensen would be the dynamic duo between some of those memorable presidential speeches in modern history. And rather than telling JFK that he hadn't done a particularly good job in a speech, he'd wait until the next time when JFK did deliver really well, and would say, you did a great job today. MATT PORTER: In addition to crafting the right messages, Frankel said Sorensen was a master at giving feedback to the president.ĪDAM FRANKEL: I remember Ted talking about how he used to give JFK feedback. It's things are maybe going OK, but we need todo better. Instead of criticizing the previous administration directly, Sorensen and Kennedy leaned into phrases like America can do better and getting America moving again.ĪDAM FRANKEL: It's an interesting phrase because it's not a phrase you use when things are going horribly wrong and you need to change course. MATT PORTER: In the 1960 presidential campaign, JFK was dealing with incredibly popular support for the outgoing President Dwight D. So I think that the speechwriter's job is to capture the voice, to help shape the message, help develop the message, and ultimately inspire people to get out to vote on Election Day. Frankel illustrates his point using an example of candidates running a campaign.ĪDAM FRANKEL: Because any election is a choice, and so the speechwriter's job is to help define that choice clearly, both negatively and positively, by painting a picture of why somebody shouldn't vote for the other person, and painting a picture of why they should vote for their candidate. MATT PORTER: Frankel says the job of a speechwriter is about influencing the intended audience's choices. And I've always thought a speechwriter's job is to help reflect the best version of that candidate.
MATT PORTER: As a speechwriter himself, Frankel has a deep appreciation for the role Sorensen played.ĪDAM FRANKEL: The speechwriter's role is to capture the voice of the candidate. And so for him, he really, I think, occupies a unique role in the history of presidential speechwriting. There was no chief of staff in the Kennedy Administration. And in Ted's case, there's a lot of truth in that because he was such an important advisor on a whole bunch of policy issues, effectively serving as a chief of staff. Oftentimes speechwriters bristle at being described as just speechwriters, as if it somehow like diminishes or isa narrow description of how they like to see themselves. Frankel said Sorensen would become more than just the speechwriter for President Kennedy.ĪDAM FRANKEL: Ted would sometimes bristle at being described as a speechwriter. Kennedy as a freshman Senator in 1953, Adam Frankel, a former Obama speechwriter and assistant to Ted Sorensen at Princeton, described the pair as a match made in heaven. MATT PORTER: When Ted Sorensen met John F. JFK called him his intellectual blood bank.
We had the privilege of sitting down with Adam Frankel, who not only served as a speechwriter for President Barack Obama, but also worked closely with Ted Sorensen as he crafted his 2008 memoir at Princeton University.ĪDAM FRANKEL: Ted and JFK had an incredibly close relationship. Sorensen made significant contributions to JFK's most well-known speeches, including the New Frontier speech at the Democratic National Convention, the inaugural address, and Kennedy's address at Rice University calling for NASA to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
He worked most closely with Ted Sorensen, a young man in his 30s from Lincoln, Nebraska. President Kennedy is remembered for delivering many powerful and inspiring speeches during his time in office. Welcome to our first episode of season six of JFK35. KENNEDY: And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you. That's next on the first episode of season six of JFK 35. For our first episode back, we'll be looking at the history of presidential speeches, including a look at President Kennedy's most valuable aide and speechwriter, Ted Sorensen. But some of his most iconic speeches came from the mind of a young speech writer from Lincoln, Nebraska. Kennedy is known for being one of the best orators in presidential history. MATT PORTER: The JFK 35 podcast is produced by the JFK Library Foundation and made possible with the help of a generous grant from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.ĪDAM FRANKEL: The speechwriter's role is to capture the voice of the candidate.
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