Martin Sheen: John F. Kennedy

Quotes 

• John F. Kennedy : Bobby says no to Attorney General.

  Jacqueline Kennedy : Oh, just keep after him. You can persuade him.

  John F. Kennedy : What makes you think so?

  Jacqueline Kennedy : Because you can talk anyone into just about anything.

  John F. Kennedy : What about you?

  Jacqueline Kennedy : Me? Oh, well...

  John F. Kennedy : I mean how would you persuade him?

  Jacqueline Kennedy : You're the president.

• John F. Kennedy : I'm offering you Attorney General because I need a good and completely honest man who will not compromise. You are the one man in the whole world I totally trust. Who believes in me, who loves me enough to tell me when I'm wrong.

  Robert F. Kennedy : Jack, I just... Jack, I have the wrong kind of experience. I've never even litigated a civil case.

  John F. Kennedy : That doesn't matter. I don't want an Attorney General bothering the details. I want moral leadership in the Justice Department.

  Robert F. Kennedy : I'm... I'm too young. I'm 34. They'll walk all over me.

  John F. Kennedy : Nonsense. Thomas Jefferson was only 33 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence.

  Robert F. Kennedy : I thought he was 32.

  John F. Kennedy : Well, that's even more impressive.

• Robert F. Kennedy : Jack, there's no getting around the fact that this is political nepotism.

  John F. Kennedy : Some will say that, but not those you know. I'm not just offering you a government job, I'm offering you a chance to make a difference in this country, to make a mark on history. What are you gonna do if you don't accept it? What are you gonna do when I'm in the White House? Just imagine living your whole life with the knowledge that you did not answer your country's call when you were most needed. You think about that.

  [a moment of silence] 

  John F. Kennedy : And let us not forget J. Edgar Hoover. Bobby, you're the only one I know who can look that man straight in the eye.