William Manchester once ventured the opinion that every political commentator is entitled to an occasional romp into fantasy. In the July/August issue of Washington Monthly, Ted Sorensen does more than romp; he fairly somersaults into the improbable, the unlikely and the banal.

Sorensen, who is renowned for having been a speechwriter to President John F. Kennedy, submits the draft of an acceptance speech that he wishes the 2008 Democrat nominee would give.

Alas, even Ted Sorenson can’t make a generic speech for a generic candidate sound interesting. Even the opening is trite: “My fellow Democrats: With high resolve and deep gratitude, I accept your nomination.”

With mounting skepticism and sinking heart I read on: “It has been a long campaign –- too long, too expensive, with too much media attention on matters irrelevant to our nation’s future.”

What else is new, Ted?

Then he turns a somersault: “In this campaign I will make no promises I cannot fulfill, pledge no spending we cannot afford, offer no posts to cronies you cannot trust, and propose no foreign commitments we should not keep.”

Cross your heart and hope to die?

There’s more in this pompous and self-righteous vein. If you want, you can buy the magazine and read it for yourself. I came away shaking my head: Was this political pabulum really written by the same man who helped to pen John Kennedy’s inaugural address, one of the greatest speeches in the history of American politics?

But I’ll admit I was intrigued by the ending of the speech, which goes like this:

“I’m told that John F. Kennedy was fond of quoting Achimedes, who explained the principle of the lever by declaring, “give me a place to stand, and I can move the world.” My fellow Americans –- here I stand. Come join me, and together we will move the world to a new era of a just and lasting peace.”

JFK was fond of quoting Archimedes? I scratched my head over that one. Still, if anyone would know, Sorensen would. So I Googled JFK and Archimedes, and sure enough, President Kennedy did use that quote from Archimedes in a speech.

The date was September 20, 1963. The occasion was an address to the U.N. General Assembly. And the quote was used with great effect in the penultimate paragraph of the speech:

“Two years ago I told this body that the United States had proposed, and was willing to sign, a limited test ban treaty. Today that treaty has been signed. It will not put an end to war. It will not remove basic conflicts. It will not secure freedom for all. But it can be a lever, and Archimedes, in explaining the principles of the lever, was said to have declared to his friends: ‘Give me a place where I can stand and I shall move the world.’

“My fellow inhabitants of this planet: Let us take our stand here in this Assembly of nations. And let us see if we, in our own time, can move the world to a just and lasting peace.”

Kennedy’s reference back to his 1961 speech to the General Assembly was very shrewd. In that earlier speech he had said:

"Today, every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.”

So in both the 1961 and 1963 speeches, he invoked classical antiquity –- first, as a warning; and second, as a challenge. Tying them together as he did was great rhetorical technique. Undoubtedly, Sorensen helped to write both speeches –- sterling examples of what he could do in his better days.

As for today, well -- does Mr. Sorensen really think that a Democrat running for president would quote Archimedes before a nationally-televised political convention? That must be the greatest romp into fantasy of all.