But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future.

This increase in the life span and in the number of our senior citizens presents this Nation with increased opportunities: the opportunity to draw upon their skill and sagacityand the opportunity to provide the respect and recognition they have earned. It is not enough for a great nation merely to have added new years to lifeour objective must also be to add new life to those years.

Only in the case of the Negro has the melting pot failed to bring a minority into the full stream of American life.

Race has no place in American life or law.

The basis of effective government is public confidence, and that confidence is endangered when ethical standards falter or appear to falter.

The highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist, is to remain true to himself and to let the chips fall where they may.

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