John Kennedy actually said...

"This means that appointments must be made on the basis of merit."

"I assure you that in a new Democratic administration there will be far better representation, on the basis of merit, of persons of all our racial groups, including particularly those who in the past h..."

"Clearly the problems of the industry will not disappear by neglect nor can we wait for a large scale unemployment and shutdown of the industry to inspire us to action."

"My own State of Massachusetts has suffered and is suffering from the same conditions."