JFK adviser and speechwriter Ted Sorensen dead at 82

[News_Editor]

JFK adviser and speechwriter Ted Sorensen dead at 82

2010-11-01 12:21:20 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- Theodore Sorensen, a close adviser and famed speechwriter to U.S. President John F. Kennedy, died in New York on Sunday, the White House confirmed. He was 82.

Sorensen passed away at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan as a result of complications of a stroke he suffered about a week ago. And while he will most likely be remembered because of the speeches he wrote for JFK, he had more important roles such as advising the President on election tactics to foreign policy.

Among the most notable phrases he wrote is the famous "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" line that was spoken by JFK during his inaugural address on January 20, 1961.

"I was so saddened to learn that Ted Sorensen passed away," said President Barack Obama after learning the news. "I got to know Ted after he endorsed my campaign early on. He was just as I hoped he’d be - just as quick-witted, just as serious of purpose, just as determined to keep America true to our highest ideals."

Obama spoke highly of Sorensen in the statement released by the White House. "From his early days desegregating a Nebraska pool to his central role electing and advising President Kennedy to his later years as an international lawyer and advocate, Ted lived an extraordinary life that made our country - and our world - more equal, more just, and more secure," Obama said, adding that generations of Americans entered public service in aspiration of following his footsteps.

"Even as I mourn his loss, I know his legacy will live on in the words he wrote, the causes he advanced, and the hearts of anyone who is inspired by the promise of a new frontier," Obama added.

With the death of Sorensen, one of the last major connections to John F. Kennedy's presidency has passed away. JFK himself died on November 22, 1963 when 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald fatally shot him while riding with his wife Jacqueline and Texas Governor John Connally in a Presidential motorcade.

Sorensen is survived by his wife Gillian, his daughter Juliet and his sons, Eric, Stephen, and Philip.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2010-11-01

[geriatrickid]

A gifted writer and erudite man. His writings were interesting, coherent and an eye opener. May he sojourn to a place with other great thinkers, writers and regular farm boys.