I bet that in 50 years we will look back at a lot of the speeches GW Bush gave and realize he was misunderstood as well. ;-)

From Neatorama:

Forty-eight years ago today, JFK gave one of the most moving speeches in international relations on record. Unfortunately, most people remember this as the “I am a jelly donut” speech due to an unfortunate misconception over the article ein, or the equivalent to a in English. It was the gaffe heard ’round the world, or so most think.

The term “ein Berliner” — when used as a noun — refers to a a jelly-filled, doughnut-like pastry Germans call “ein Pfannkuchen Berliner” or “ein Berliner” for short.

For this reason, Kennedy’s line “Ich bin ein Berliner” has been the source of much amusement and debate over the years.

However, my friend [who was in attendance for the speech] noted that, much more importantly, the people of West Berlin knew what Kennedy actually meant. They found his words “Ich bin ein Berliner” inspiring, not laughable.

You can see why by listening to or reading Kennedy’s entire speech.

It’s one of the most famous speeches in history. And, the crowd of more than 120,000 West Germans who were there on June 26, 1963 were cheering loudly, not laughing.