His speechwriter, Hess I believe, took that quote. Just as Sorensen lifted Kennedy's "Ask not ...." from the Romans. No doubt Goldwater et al thought it would be received similarly. Needless to say, it wasn't.
No doubt the Romans lifted from the Greeks. It's done all the time. Politicians only get into trouble when they plagiarize with reckless abandon, like Biden did when he ran for Prz. Biden lifted Neil Kinnock's speech almost in its entirety, including Kinnock's life, claiming to be the son of miners, etc.
Anyway, probably neither Kennedy nor Goldwater had any idea. Kennedy, though, received the Pulitzer Prize for a book Sorensen wrote, "Profiles in Courage" - which was part of his family's massive PR campaign to build an image for a playboy-Senator of no other distinction. It later came to haunt him when people realized that JFK was "all profile and no courage".
Kennedy also had his earlier PR book written by NYT editorialist Arthur Krock for him while marking time at the London School of Economics - it first filled his course assignment and was later published. It was called "While England Slept" and basically repudiated his father, Joseph Kennedy's, views while ambassador to Britain. I guess old Joe thought he was just buying a term paper, not a public rebuke. |
