SCOTT SIMON, host:
This is Weekend Edition from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Any presidential inaugural address is a piece of history. But some have lines that live on longer than others. Few have been cited and quoted more than this one.
(Soundbite of vintage recording)
Former President JOHN F. KENNEDY: And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for you country.
(Soundbite of people cheering)
SIMON: President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address 48 years ago. We're joined now by the man who was known as JFK's chief wordsmith, counselor and conscience. Ted Sorensen joins us from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.
Mr. TED SORENSEN (JFK Speechwriter): Nice to be with you Scott.
SIMON: You know, you worked so many memorable lines with John F. Kennedy. But if I can get you to tell the story once and for all, maybe one line you didn't write was that one.
Mr. SORENSEN: Let's just say that my work over an 11-year period with John F. Kennedy was a collaborative process, and I wouldn't remember now who provided one word or one line. But John F. Kennedy was the author of his inaugural address because he's the man who made the decisions on what policies and values to enunciate.
SIMON: When you were helping President Kennedy draft that address, you and the president reportedly read from many past inaugural addresses. Can you remember what you learned from some of them?
Mr. SORENSEN: I learned that most of them were pretty poor speeches. Of course, Lincoln's second inaugural is one of the greatest speeches of all time. Roosevelt's first inaugural was very important at a time of economic collapse even worse than today. Jefferson's first inaugural was important in the early history of our country. Most of the others were forgettable. I have forgotten them.
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SIMON: Well, what do you think a great inaugural address should accomplish?
Mr. SORENSEN: First of all, it's not a campaign speech. It's a talk to convey America's values to the world, and to stamp the identity of that new president for at least the next four years.
SIMON: So when you say it's not a campaign speech, they should forget some of the rhetoric of the campaign and go on to something new?
Mr. SORENSEN: They certainly shouldn't attack their opponents or even go too heavy into ideology.
SIMON: Yeah. You, of course, famously endorsed Barack Obama during the primaries. Would you dare to give him any rhetorical advice as he presumably polishes his inaugural address this weekend?
Mr. SORENSEN: I might, but I don't think I would give it over Weekend Edition.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SIMON: All right. You can't blame a guy for trying, can you? Another direction entirely - President Carter nominated you to head the CIA, but the nomination never got to a vote. What do you make of some of the skepticism that has been expressed over President-elect Obama's nomination of Leon Panetta to head the CIA?
Mr. SORENSEN: It all sounded a little familiar. People on the inside saying, but he's not on the inside. That's one of the great attractions I see in Leon Panetta for that job.
SIMON: That he comes in from the outside and...
Mr. SORENSEN: Yes because clearly, the CIA has done some good and great things. But it has also done some bad and terrible things. And a fresh look from the outside could shake it up and clean it up.
SIMON: Can you - having been through it yourself - can you help us understand the process of putting together an inaugural address? Can you project yourself into that Obama speechwriting team and kind of fathom what they're going through this weekend?
SORENSEN: It's tough for them this weekend because expectations are so high. The time is so important. Obama is so eloquent that people are expecting a speech that will truly soar. And fortunately, he has a first-rate speechwriting team, and I think they will meet those expectations.
SIMON: Ted Sorensen, a man who wrote many phrases that are chiseled into marble. His latest book is "Counselor: Life at the Edge of History." Ted, thank you so much for being with us.
SORENSON: Happy to be with you, Scott.