On 50th anniversary of JFK speech, a great-nephew makes his mark

Joseph Kennedy’s speech, delivered just after the Legislature had listened in rapt silence to an audio recording of the “City on a Hill” speech, drew a standing ovation and immediately renewed speculation about the younger Kennedy’s future. With the retirement of US Representative Patrick J. Kennedy last week, the Kennedy family is, for the first time since 1947, without a member serving in federal office.

Joseph Kennedy, whose father, Joseph P. Kennedy II, served in Congress, flirted with a run in the 10th Congressional district last year, and some Democrats are eager to see him resume the family's political tradition.

“Pretty amazing,” Senate President Therese Murray said after the speech. “I think we have a new Kennedy. He hit that one right out of the ballpark ... Another historic speech from another Kennedy.”

Questioned by a reporter afterward, Kennedy demurred about his political future, saying he loves his job, and, “at the moment, that’s what I’m focused on.”

But today’s ceremony provided perhaps his most prominent stage yet. Not only he did he speak moments after President Kennedy’s recorded voice had filled the ornate chamber, but legislators were given black-and-white photos showing President Kennedy standing in the same spot delivering his “City on a Hill" speech.

Yet the contrasts were also striking. John Kennedy in 1961 was a war hero, US senator, and a president-elect paying homage to Massachusetts as he prepared to lead a nation. This Kennedy is a little-known assistant district attorney in Barnstable County.

But Joseph Kennedy, rather than merely recounting his family’s history, used his speech to try to vault himself into the national debate following the shooting deaths of six people and the grave wounding of Democratic US Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson.

Speaking of President Kennedy’s opposition to racial discrimination and violence, Joseph Kennedy said, “for what he represented, he was taken away. As was Dr. King. As was my grandfather, Robert. And I know that we are all hoping and praying that we don’t lose Gabby Giffords as well.”

Without naming Sarah Palin's now-famous map targeting Giffords and other members of Congress, he criticized “political images from both parties showing opponents in the crosshairs of a rifle-scope.”

Urging Americans to return to “service and sacrifice, courage and judgment, integrity and dedication,” he said, “these are the ideals that ought to endure, rather than partisan rancor, naked self-interest, and other corrosive effects of promoting social divisions – a kind of moral gerrymandering that saps our spirit and collective will.”

Vicki Kennedy, considered a potential challenger to US Senator Scott Brown in 2012, listened to the speech and smiled throughout the tributes to President Kennedy. But she did not make any remarks from the dais, or speak with reporters afterward.

A handful of former lawmakers who were in the chamber in 1961 were on hand today to mark the anniversary of the “City on a Hill” address, one in a series of events commemorating John Kennedy's election and inauguration. Mayor Michael J. McGlynn of Medford, wearing a JFK button from the 1960 campaign, recalled watching the speech as a 7-year-old, crouching under the desk of his uncle, then a state representative. Afterward, he shook John Kennedy’s hand.

“As a 7-year-old, when you go back to the neighborhood, everyone wants to shake your hand because you shook the president’s hand,” he said. “I remember that very distinctly.”

Thomas C. Wojtkowski, 85, a former Democratic state representative from Pittsfield, recalled the sense of enthusiasm he felt after hearing John Kennedy’s speech, with its invocations of the Pilgrim and the Puritan, the fisherman and the farmer, the Yankee and the immigrant.

“It was so moving,” he said. “He had just been elected president. My god. We were so excited.”