John F. Kennedy was the first (and only) Catholic president. This might not sound like a big deal but it was. So scared was the American public of having a Catholic president who could potentially be influenced by the (gasp!) Pope. Kennedy had to give this speech to try and qualm these concerns.
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute--where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote--where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference--and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.
Wow. I wish I could have seen him speak. The reason this is relevant is that a lot of people are calling for Mitt Romney to give a speech similar to this over his Mormon faith...but Mitt Romney is not as good looking as JFK.
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