Ted Sorensen at the Q&A Cafe

When I heard that THE Ted Sorensen was coming to be interviewed by Carol Joynt at the Nathan’s Q&A Cafe, I immediately blocked that time off on my calendar.  I had to be there. Apparently so did a lot of other people because not only was the luncheon sold out, there was a waiting list.

Sitting at the table with him was such a memorable moment and honor.  This nearly now blind, humble, soft spoken, dryly witty man was not only John F. Kennedy’s first legislative assistant, then speechwriter then advisor, he was his closest counsel and friend.  After writing his tenth book “Counselor”, which recounts his own life as well as his relationship with Kennedy, he is now on the book tour.  We were so very fortunate to have him at the Q&A Cafe.  He has lost most of his sight and has to be guided by his assistant.  We joked about how our last names are never spelled correctly (with an “e” for Danish) and that the NY Times misspelled his name 162 times.

Some highlights from the lunch:

The day Kennedy was assassinated was the saddest day in Sorensen’s life. He does not visit the grave site.  It is still too hard for him.  “Life has to go on though”, he said as his eyes welled up.

Hailing from Nebraska, he is a Danish, Jewish Unitarian (no joke).  When the young lawyer came to Washington, DC, he got into his first taxi ever and got to drive right by the White House.  “Despite its occupant, I still look at it with great respect.” (that got a lot of laughs)

During the interview, his phone started ringing.  He said, “Oh, that’s mine.  It’s not Mr. Giuliani, I can tell you that!”

While Ted was often looked at as the “extra Kennedy brother”, Bobby Kennedy definitely showed how he felt about him in various ways.  One of those such times was when Jack, Ted and Bobby were in their suits on the White House lawn and were to “play football” for a photo opp.  Jack was to throw to Ted and Bobby was to defend.  As Ted went up in the air to catch the ball in his “one good suit”, Bobby dove in and tackled him, making sure he was on the ground hard. 

He became closer to Jackie after Kennedy died. While they were in the White House, Jackie tended to her children and her duties as First Lady and didn’t really interact as much with Ted.  When he wrote his first book, “Kennedy”, he shared with us that out of respect for the family, he gave the manuscript to Jackie so she could look at it first.  Amazingly, she had a lot of “changes” for him, including taking out that Jack ever EVER would drink, even on occasion.  She also wanted him to change how Jack and he felt about LBJ.  Ted was surprised about the “total lack of respect for LBJ” that she had.

Sorensen is such a well respected and admired speechwriter, that in 2007 he was asked to write an imaginary acceptance speech for the Democratic nominee in the Washington Monthly, without mention of the candidate.

To Sorensen, the most important quality in a President is having judgement.  Kennedy had that and exercised it.  Another vital quality is having the ability to pick the right team.  He said Obama did just that which is one reason why he beat Clinton.

What would he want to have as the caption of his obit?  “Server of Peace and Justice”, although, he said it will probably say “Shot by an angry husband”. 

Please pick up the book “Counselor:  A Life at the Edge of History” by Ted Sorensen.  The audio is excellent as well, according to Carol Joynt, as it is told in Ted’s voice personally. 

To watch the whole interview click on this link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/TheQandACafe