Let every public servant know, whether his post is high or low, that a man's rank and reputation in this Administration will be determined by the size of the job he does, and not by the size of his staff, his office or his budget.
John F. Kennedy
The Public Record
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president, at 43 years, and the first Catholic president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress before his presidency.
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Let it be clear that this Administration recognizes the value of dissent and daring--that we greet healthy controversy as the hallmark of healthy change.
And let every man and woman who works in any area of our national government, in any branch, at any level, be able to say with pride and with honor in future years: "I served the United States government in that hour of our nation's need.
For only with complete dedication by us all to the national interest can we bring our country through the troubled years that lie ahead.
And while hoping and working for the best, we should prepare ourselves now for the worst.
We cannot escape our dangers--neither must we let them drive us into panic or narrow isolation.
It is one of the ironies of our time that the techniques of a harsh and repressive system should be able to instill discipline and ardor in its servants--while the blessings of liberty have too often stood for privilege, materialism and a…
Wishing it, predicting it, even asking for it, will not make it so.
The hopes of all mankind rest upon us--not simply upon those of us in this chamber, but upon the peasant in Laos, the fisherman in Nigeria, the exile from Cuba, the spirit that moves every man and Nation who shares our hopes for freedom…
And in the final analysis, they rest most of all upon the pride and perseverance of our fellow citizens of the great Republic.
Members of the Congress, the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress.
The product of our abundance must be used more effectively to relieve hunger and help economic growth in all corners of the globe.