John F. Kennedy Presidential Quotations

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.

We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.

Every dollar released from taxation that is spared or invested will help create a new job and a new salary.

We have become more and more not a nation of athletes but a nation of spectators.

Just as I went into politics because Joe died, if anything happened to me tomorrow, my brother Bobby would run for my seat in the Senate. And if Bobby died, Teddy would take over for him.

If all of you had voted the other way - there's about 5500 of you here tonight - I would not be the President of the United States.

For I can assure you that we love our country, not for what it was, though it has always been great - not for what it is, though of this we are deeply proud - but for what it someday can, and, through the efforts of us all, someday will be.

But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not stand alone.

In seeking the help of the Congress and our countrymen, I pledged no easy answers. I pledged, and asked, only toil and dedication. These the Congress and the people have given in good measure.

'O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.'

If I don't have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches.

I have seen in many places housing which has been developed under government influences, but I have never seen any projects in which governments have played their part which have fountains and statues and grass and trees, which are as important to the concept of the home as the roof itself.

Our deep spiritual confidence that this nation will survive the perils of today - which may well be with us for decades to come - compels us to invest in our nation's future, to consider and meet our obligations to our children and the numberless generations that will follow.

Let us make it clear that we will never turn our backs on our steadfast friends in Israel, whose adherence to the democratic way must be admired by all friends of freedom.

We support the security of both Israel and her neighbors.

Je me sens vraiment entre amis. (I feel that I am truly among friends.)

Our alliance is born, not of fear, but of hope. It is an alliance that advances what we are for, as well as opposes what we are against.

The leadership of the American Legion has not had a constructive thought for the benefit of this country since 1918.

I have said that control of arms is a mission that we undertake particularly for our children and our grandchildren and that they have no lobby in Washington.

If the economy of today were operating close to capacity levels with little unemployment, or if a sudden change in our military requirements should cause a scramble for men and resources, then I would oppose tax reductions as irresponsible and inflationary; and I would not hesitate to recommend a tax increase if that were necessary.

Now let me make it clear that I believe there can only be one defense policy for the United States and that is summed up in the word 'first.' I do not mean first, but. I do not mean first, when. I do not mean first, if. I mean first -period.

If more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live.

For one true measure of a nation is its success in fulfilling the promise of a better life for each of its members. Let this be the measure of our nation.

It's only when they join together in a forward movement that this country moves ahead...

Harry Truman once said, 'There are 14 or 15 million Americans who have the resources to have representatives in Washington to protect their interests, and that the interests of the great mass of the other people - the 150 or 160 million - is the responsibility of the president of the United States, and I propose to fulfill it.'

The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all America.

Whatever one's religion in his private life may be, for the officeholder, nothing takes precedence over his oath to uphold the Constitution and all its parts - including the First Amendment and the strict separation of church and state.

We can say with some assurance that, although children may be the victims of fate, they will not be the victims of our neglect.

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.

Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.