Foreign affairs Quote by David Halberstam
““No son of mine is going to be a goddamn liberal, Kennedy interjected. Now, now Joe, Luce answered, of course he’s got to run as a liberal. A Democrat has to run left of center to get the vote in the big northern cities, so don’t hold it against him if he’s left of center, because we won’t. We know his problems and what he has to do. So we won’t fight him there. But on foreign affairs, Luce continued, if he shows any sign of weakness toward the anti-Communist cause—or, as Luce decided to put it more positively—if he shows any weakness in defending the cause of the free world, we’ll turn on him. There’s no chance of that, Joe Kennedy had guaranteed; no son of mine is going to be soft on Communism.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview with John F. Kennedy, 1960
Kennedy demanded unwavering anti‑communist stance, threatening to abandon any liberal Democrat who appeared weak on foreign policy.
In simple terms: Kennedy insisted on strong anti‑communism, even against liberal allies.
Key Takeaway
Demand loyalty to anti‑communist principles.
Themes
politics
ideology
loyalty
foreign policy
Cold War
Mood
tense
defensive
Type
political
historical
When to use this quote
- campaign strategy
- party nominations
- policy debates
- international negotiations
Key Concepts
realpolitik
partisan pressure
political strategy
Questions to Reflect On
- Is ideological rigidity justified in foreign policy?
- How does party pressure affect individual beliefs?
A Different Perspective
May compromise democratic values for ideological purity.
![“Theodore Sorensen wrote for [Robert Kennedy's 1968] announcement speech: “At stake is not simply the leadership of our party, and even our own country, it is our right to the moral leadership of this planet.” The sentence absolutely appalled all the younger Robert Kennedy advisers, who felt it…” quote by David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f6e/david-halberstam-9032_communication_theodore-sorensen-wrote-for-robert-kenne_12566.jpg)
