My Personal Day with Ted Sorenson

I am a senior at the University of North Dakota (UND) majoring in social science (pre-law). This year the university held a conference to commemorate the 45^th anniversary of John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s visit to the school, reflect on the contents of his speeches, and celebrate the fallen President's life and achievements. The distinguished guests of honor at the conference were Ted Sorenson and Richard Reeves.

Richard Reeves is a nationally recognized syndicated columnist and Senior Lecturer at USC's esteemed Annenberg School for Communication. His major connection to JFK was his authoring of President Kennedy: Profile of Power. Mr. Reeves is considered to be an authority on JFK's presidency and his work is highly praised by his peers.

Ted Sorenson is one of the last remaining survivor's of President John F. Kennedy's inner circle. He helped to craft the President's now famous words "Ask not what your country can do for you...." Mr. Sorenson's presence no doubt helped to guide JFK through the closest episode the world has yet to face in what could have been a total nuclear holocaust (Cuban Missile Crisis) and his masterful skill as a word smith will be forever enshrined in history through the eloquence that JFK breathed into the delivery of his speeches. After his distinguished accomplishments as JFK's speech writer ended with the assassination of the president, he served for a very brief time in the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson. His next move was to utilize the J.D. that was awarded to him by the University of Nebraska School of Law in 1951. Ted Sorenson is currently a speech writer for senator Barack Obama

Sorenson eventually embarked upon an illustrious career as Senior Partner in the prominent law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (Paul Weiss). Paul, Weiss is one of the most notable law firms in the world...they are particularly noted for their commitment to diversity. The firm was one of the first major Wall street firms to admit a female partner (1) as well as one of the firsts to hire a black lawyer. (2)

My personal experience with Ted Sorenson started with an opportunity to join the famed attorney and speech writer at an invitation only luncheon. The invitation was extended to me by my history professor and president of the State Historical Society of North Dakota Dr. Albert Berger

When I first received the invitation a week before the event I was all excited about the prospect of meeting Ted Sorenson in person. To meet with a speech writer for John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Barack Obama would be a dream come true. As the day drew closer I began to get nervous. On the day before the luncheon I was sent an official RSVP and I responded with a question. "How many students would be attending this luncheon?" I asked. "Five" was the reply that I received. My immediate reaction was to bail out; I kept wondering "why in the world would such an esteemed individual ever want to be in the company of...me?" By no means do I have some sort of low self esteem issue...but come on, really... I'm not a narcissist either. Eventually, I calmed my nerves and accepted the invitation.

Ted Sorenson and Richard Reeves were extremely down to earth and very pleasant to converse with. We were all given the opportunity to ask both guests any questions we had and we eventually grew so comfortable with each other until the projected hour-long event went into double time. We got to hear both guests' opinions of the upcoming presidential election as well as the pertinent reasons for their endorsement of Senator Barack Obama's bid for presidency. Most of these reasons can be heard in Sorenson's official statement of support for Barack Obama and in the various texts of Richard Reeves' articles. Ted Sorenson's opinion of Barack Obama was most important to me and it warmed my heart that he gave him one of the highest compliments ever.

Later on in the day, both of the honored guests participated in the colorful official opening ceremony of the conference. Then later that evening Mr. Sorenson participated in a public conversation followed by a reception and book signing of his latest publication, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History.

In the end, the day that I spent with both Ted Sorenson and Richard Reeves turned out to be an experience that I will treasure for a long time to come.