Platform Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, Martinez, California, September 8, 1960

Mr. Mayor, Governor Brown, Doug Page, your next Congressman, Senator Miller, ladies and gentlemen: I want to express my appreciation to all of you for coming down to this station and giving us a great Democratic welcome. (Applause)

This train isn't just heading for Oakland. It is heading for Washington, D.C. (Applause) I don't think that there is anyone in this town who thinks that there are no longer any major issues between the two parties. We carry on in this campaign the same struggle that Woodrow Wilson carried on in his fight for the New Freedoms; that Franklin Roosevelt carried on in his fight for the New Deal; that Harry Truman carried on in his fight for the Fair Deal, and that Adlai Stevenson carried on in his fight for a New America. (Applause)

We are going to demonstrate in this election that this country is ready for a change. We are going to show that this country does not want four more years of standing still. The record of the Republican Party is written into the bills that have been defeated over the last 25 years, defeated in the last four weeks of the Congressional session.

I think this is a great state, with a great Governor. I think this is a great country. But I think it can be a greater country. That is the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. They think everything is as good as it can be. We think it can be better. That is what the purpose of this election is. (Applause)

Every effort that we have made to secure federal aid for education, aid for our older citizens, a better deal for all Americans, I think this administration has opposed. I don't think this country is ready to see the administration of the country turned over in the most dangerous years of our history to a standstill, status quo administration. I think we can do better. I ask your help in the campaign. Give me your hands and your voice and I think we can move again. (Applause) And I think the place to win this election is right here in the State of California. (Applause)

I want you - my wife is having a baby. I want you to meet my sister who used to come from Massachusetts but saw the wisdom of coming west; my sister, Pat Lawford. (Applause) And I would like to have you meet, I hope, your next Congressman, Doug Page. Thank you. (Applause)

Source: Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential Papers. Senate Files, Box 911, "Martinez, California, 8 September 1960." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.