The only reason to give a speech is to change the world.

I suppose if you could have only one thing, it would be that-energy. Without it, you haven't got a thing.

The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.

The purpose of foreign policy is not to provide an outlet for our own sentiments of hope or indignation; it is to shape real events in a real world.

I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.

The poet and the politician have this in common: their greatness depends on the courage with which they face the challenges of life.

The function and responsibility of the President is to set before the American people the unfinished business, the things we must do if we are going to succeed as a nation.