I give you King, but must credit Ted Sorensen for the success of the other two.

For the words, yes, credit Ted....but what makes the words come alive is the oration, the credibility of the speaker and his delivery.....to fail in that area would be the equivalent of watching paint dry.

Hi Mary, great piece but I do have a small nit. I'm a MA native and I can tell you that the Kennedy accent is sui generis, based on the eastern Massachusetts, i.e. Boston, accent most certainly, but something all their own.

And yes, LT - Sorenson wrote the words to the speech (and quite possibly even a certain Pulitzer Prize winning book), but the ideas were pure Kennedy.

Lt. B, as a writer, I agree with you that I respect someone who writes and delivers their own speeches the most highly. I did title this piece "Great Orators" deliberately. Gifted public servants surround themselves with gifted staffs, from whom they receive input. I am a huge fan of singer/songwriter James Taylor, in part because he does it all--he writes his own songs (primarily, though his current album is "Covers"), plays guitar expertly, and is the lead singer. What I value, though, is the end product. I suspect if you looked through your entire music collection, you'd find that more than half your favorite pieces weren't written by the person who sings them.

Sorenson surely was a critical component of the Kennedys' success and probably should have shared in the Pulitzer honor. Martin Luther King apparently had help with his "I have a dream" speech (see http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/apr/04/museum-role-a-sacred-trust/), but after the first few paragraphs, turned the draft over and launched into the guts of the speech impromptu.

From what I can find, Barack Obama is known to craft his own speeches, circulate drafts, receive input, and be the ultimate arbiter of the final product.

What I hear resonating in my mind, heart, and soul is the timber of the voice, the passion of the intonation, the facility of the delivery. It was this standard, as onecorgilover eloquently notes, that I used to compile this list.

John,
I knew it was Boston-related, but my ear isn't fine-tuned enough to recognize that the Kennedy accent was their own genre. Thanks for the expert read!

DW, I agree, Obama's oratory skills are great, and are a big reason, maybe the biggest reason, he is our President-elect. We are a fortunate nation indeed if he is half as good a wise leader as he is a great speaker.

Well, Martha's Vineyard is about as far eastern MA as you can get without driving to the tip of the cape! It's been years since I was there, but it is lovely.

This is a great collection. Thanks for the shared memories. I was 3 when JFK was assassinated, and I remember that time with amazing clarity for a child that age. I realize now that it was the time of my youth when I was unceremoniously relieved of my innocence.

I was born just north of Boston and my family was living there when JFK was killed. JFK was ours and he was gone - it was emotionally devastating for my family. It is a sad thing when the hope of a nation dies, especially when you are only 3 and don't really understand exactly what is going on.

On my desk I have framed pictures of my guys; , my father (same as the bottom of the post here - I include the link here because he has a face in this picture that ALWAYS makes me smile) my hubby , and JFK . I think I need another picture. It's been a long time coming.

Cherie,

Love the photo of your Dad & can see why he makes you smile. He made me smile just looking at his picture. I would love to see a photo (or the photo) of your hubby Claus! Sounds like a post to me.

I have this picture framed in my office:

http://www.pace.edu/emplibrary/martinLutherKingGandhi3.jpg

It gives me twice the inspiration, for showing what inspired MLK.

I was thirteen two weeks before JFK was assassinated. Old enough that my eyes squirt with how clear the memory of his death rings in consciousness. I remember crying when Moms Mabley sang "Abraham, Martin & John" on some television program where I thought she was going to be funny, as usual.

Ted Sorenson is one of Obama's early supporters you know. He says he saw what Kennedy had in Obama. I did too. I went through a class in ministry where I was witness to a group of mature, educated ministerial graduates giving their answer to the same assignment that was meant to be inspiring. Only a small handful were at all inspiring. It is a rare gift to speak in a way that is inspiring. It requires knowing oneself in such a way that ones authenticity rings through the words, no matter who wrote them for you. Sorenson's gift was that he understood the voice for whom he wrote, so he didn't violate that authentic connection. That is an equally rare gift.

I forgot, wonderful post. When MSNBC pointed that camera at Jesse Jackson, it broke my heart. That man may have gotten a bit cynical, but with what he's seen, he has got some room with me to have made some mistakes. He will always be an importanyt historical hero of the civil rights movement.

What a great little collection of speeches. I often wish we had some recordings of some of the great presidents such as Lincoln and Jefferson. I was quite young when JFK was assassinated, and I remember being scared about it. I also remember watching as his casket was taken by horse-drawn carriage on TV and crying about it. Then there were the other two tragic assassinations of MLK and RFK. What a decade that was for stirring the conscience.

rated

Wow! I thought of John and Bobby Kennedy and Dr. King when President-elect Barack Obama gave his speech early Nov. 5 (for EST). I remember all of these speeches from my childhood as well as clips of them since. I think their words, and oratory, echoed in Obama's words and oratory. Whether it was Obama's intention or their happy ghosts speaking through him (or both), I don't know. I feel as if there are many souls, seen and unseen, smiling around him as he prepares our country's new adminstration. Finally.

Thanks so much for this, the moments in history out of which this work came lives so vividly in my mind.

G

DW, this post brought back many memories and a few chills. I find it interesting that some people try to diminish, and while Sorensen was a partner, he is not responsible for the success of those he wrote for.

Inspiring post.

Love this, DogWoman. Here's my favourite - JFK, at Rice University, 1962:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-3869840708980866955&ei=_CsaSbjyLqf22gLk1vjGDQ&q=kennedy+rice+university+1962&hl=en

Best part - at about the 9:00 mark: "We choose to go to the moon... We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but becasue they are hard. Because THAT goal will serve to organize and measure the BEST... of our energies and skills...". Terriffic.

Wow, I haven't thought of Abraham, Martin, & John in a long time. That song always brings me to tears, I can never get through that last stanza without choking up.

Excellent selection, Mary. I agree, Obama is likely to take his place as one of the great orators in our history.

Great post.

I guess I never connected the oratory skills with some of their common traits. Do you suppose we've learned not to kill the messenger? I'm so worried about that.

http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=44981

My blog echoed yours in a different sort of (visual) way. (didn't know how to make a hyperlink in this comment box.

Dog woman, In many ways, we have similar causes. I would like to suggest to you a couple of other orators that inspired me at the time. Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and most any thing that FDR and Adali Stevenson said.