reporter: clark's own exquisite biography of the address argues that its best lines came not from ted sorensono was kennedy's speechwriter, but from jfk himself, who made sure to be photographed working on it. a claim loyally corroborated over the years by the late sorenson himself. >> it was kennedy's speech. >> reporter: corroborated, but not always believed, except by those who recognized that his themes, like sacrificing for liberty -- >> pay any price, bear any burden. >> reporter: -- were themes he'd expressed throughout the campaign. and no one doubts that the edits were kennedy's, as when he spoke of human rights. >> those human rights to which this nation has always been committed. >> reporter: a young aide, later a u.s. senator, had urged kennedy to mark the cause of civil rights, so listen for this two-word insert. >> to which we are committed today, at home and around the world. >> the president got to me that day and he revived the can-do american spirit that the world was waiting for, and he was young himself. >> reporter: young, and also bold. after years of cautious leadership

." >> ted sorenson, the architect of phrases like "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. " he was a marvelous man. >> sorry to see you guy, white house economic guru larry somers. the former harvard university president was the only one who acknowledged how global trade means lost american jobs gone overseas. sorry to see you go larry. okay, 15 minutes of fame, pat. >> pfc bradley manning. welcome to leavenworth, bradley. >> eleanor. >> shirley sherrod, the usda official who was fired for having -- when her remarks were taken out of context by a conservative activist. i'm flattered by her. you had a negative 15 minutes. mine is a positive 15 minutes for her, not for the scandal that followed. >> velma hart. she was the woman who respectfully but emotionally challenged president obama over his economic policies, and she famously told him that she was exhausted from defending him. she has since lost her job. >> christine o'donnell who won the republican primary for the senate in delaware and took away a sure republican seat from that seat. >> 15

one of the first people who's very famous in their connection is ted sorenson, the late ted sorenson who just passed a few weeks ago who was a very good man and a friend and, really, was very kind and wrote the forward for this book. ted developed a relationship with then-senator kennedy from the matts, and he went to work for him when he was only this his early 20s, and they developed a quick bond on policy and on speeches, and it lasted until he went to the white house and be he then joined him in the white house. michael again win was president bush's speech writer, and he went to work for him in the white house. and now president obama's chief speech writer who was his campaign chief speech writer is a gentleman named john favreau. i worked with him on the kerry campaign when i was a speech writer for john kerry, and he was just then 22 and out of holy cross. he's now just, you know, i think he started with obama when he was 23 in the senate with the junior senator from illinois similar to sorenson, and they an immediate bond. -- they had an immediate bond. you saw very quickly t

learn the secrets. >> reporter: clarke's own exquisite biography of the address came not from ted sorensonghout the campaign. no one doubts the edits were kennedy's, as when he spoke of human rights. >> those human rights to which this nation has always been committed. >> reporter: a young aide, later a u.s. senator, had urged kennedy to mark the clause of civil rights. so listen to this two-word insert. >> to which we are committed today, at home, and around the world. >> the president got to me that day and he revived a can-do american spirit that the world was waiting for. and he was young himself. >> reporter: young and also bold. after years of cautious leadership in the 1950s and a sense of drift. >> it's like the wizard of oz. with you're watching "the wizard of oz," suddenly it goes from black and white to color. >> reporter: so the words of the speech's most famous passage -- >> ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. >> reporter: -- they are, indeed, set in stone, far and wide now, written not to please but to inspire. they did. and they do

. >> reporter: long-time kennedy speech writer and advisor ted sorenson told cbs news back in 1999 that kennedy had one goal in mind. >> he wanted this speech to speak out and try to address those skeptics, to prove that he was up to the task. >> reporter: sorenson, who died a few months ago, was often given credit for the inaugural address. thurston clark disagrees. >> i think he would find that john kennedy contributed most of the passages and the famous words that we remember. the torch has been passed to a new generation. the "ask not" line. bear any burden. all of those were kennedy. he dictated them. he had a sorenson draft in front of him on january 10. he flew to palm beach. he looked at the draft. he dictated his changes, his additions to the draft. >> reporter: at the kennedy library in boston director tom putnam showed us the display that includes pages from the steno pad of kennedy's is secretary. >> even in her shorthand, you can see she's written out the words long twilight struggle. the trumpet summonss us again. disease, war itself. these are signature lines that we reme

. >> reporter: in a front page article for the "new york times," ted sorenson who died last october called versions of the script vindictive and malicious. and members of the kennedy clan felt the same way. >> we're told that maria shriver, and caroline kennedy both who have ties to the history channel both were involved in getting this killed. >> reporter: caroline kennedy is currently involved in a book deal about her family to be released by a disney owned publisher. the miniseries is the brain child of the creator of the fox action show "24" and a rare and outspoken political conservative in hollywood which melanie says may have been a source of concern for the kennedys. >> according to the history network, it's historically accurate, whether the tone or some of the portrayals are in tune with how the kennedys like to remember their legacy, that's another thing. >> reporter: in a statement, the history channel said while the film is produced and acted with the highest quality, after viewing the final product in it's totality, we have concluded that this dramatic interpretation is not f

project has been criticized from the beginning in a front page article for "the new york times," ted sorensonan advisor who died early october called early versions of the script vindictive and malicious. the most prominent living members of the kennedy clan reportedly felt the same way. >> specifically, we're told maria shriver and caroline kennedy, both of whom have ties to the history channel, were involved in getting this killed. >> maria shriver is a former employee of nbc universal and caroline kennedy is currently involved in a book deal about her family, to be released by a disney owned publisher. both companies are partial owners of the history channel. the mini series is the brainchild of the creator of the fox action show "24" and an outspoken political cons tconsa hollywood. >> it's incredibly accurate. whether the tone or some of the portrayals are in tune with how the kennedys like to remember their legacy, that's another thing. >> in a statement, the history channel said while the film is produced and acted with the highest quality, after viewing the final product in its totali