John F. Kennedy brought style and charisma to the White House and a first family that captivated the country: a handsome, witty president, an elegant first lady, and two adorable young children.

Kennedy was haunted by the Bay of Pigs invasion but carried the country through the Cuban Missile Crisis. He later increased the number of U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam to more than 16,000.

Once I decide to do something, I can't have people telling me I can't. If there's a roadblock, you jump over it, walk around it, crawl under it.

JFK used to say the bishops and the cardinals were all Republicans, but the nuns were Democrats! I sort of believe that too.

A hero is someone we can admire without apology.

The difference between authorized and unauthorized biographies is the difference between riding in carriage or squatting in steerage.

Studies have been done showing that there really are gender differences, that women do bring more congeniality and compromise to the table.

People forget that unauthorized does not mean untrue and authorized does not mean authentic.

Presidents often disappoint, but first ladies rarely do.

There's still time for redemption if I live long enough, don't you think?

I would love to do an unauthorized biography about Congress. It's like a secret society up there.

Better be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo.

Only those who never stand up, never fall down.

My mother asked me what I wanted for my birthday, so I said I wanted to read poetry with her.

There is no such thing as a successful defense.

Faith is all about trusting God even when you don't understand His plan.

A man doesn't learn to understand anything unless he loves it.

Music belongs to everybody. Having a little clique of the industry tell us what our culture is... I don't think that's healthy. And the Internet is helping us get away from that.

I was never, ever interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur. If I was a businessman, or saw myself as a businessman, I would have never gone into the airline business.

When Frank Zappa would get an idea for a song, he just did it. He didn't wait for anybody or expect anyone to do it.

I get a lot that people have a hard time believing that I’m a nerd... but I grew up with a Nintendo controller in my hand.