No man entering upon this office, regardless of his party, regardless of his previous service in Washington, could fail to be staggered upon learning--even in this brief 10 day period--the harsh enormity of the trials through which we must pass in the next four years.
Kennedy reflects on the overwhelming challenges faced by a new president in his State of the Union address.
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For my part, I shall withhold from neither the Congress nor the people any fact or report, past, present, or future, which is necessary for an informed judgment of our conduct and hazards.
And, while the occasion does not call for another recital of our blessings and assets, we do have no greater asset than the willingness of a free and determined people, through its elected officials, to face all problems frankly and meet…
A year ago, in assuming the tasks of the Presidency, I said that few generations, in all history, had been granted the role of being the great defender of freedom in its hour of maximum danger.
Before my term has ended, we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure.