JFK Inaugural ``Ask not'' etc

``And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.''

Kennedy has to have misread that, starting off as if the verb were ``ask not.'' Then to recover, he had to insert the dash, which saved the line if not making complete sense. You could tell what he meant, at least.

But a speechwriter is certain to have written the better line, ``Ask, not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.''

Like ``One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,'' the misread line became famous.

``Inspired generations.'' Please.