Even Greener Pastures

Steve, I don't claim to be a German speaker but it's been disproven years ago that JFK did not say that he's a jelly doughnut. The wording was twisted to make a joke or to embarrass the man. I'd like to have Susanne set this straight.

Glad to oblige, TAFKNATO. 
No, the wording wasn't twisted, as far as I know. It's just that it's an excellent example for what happens when somebody stumbles across a word from a foreign language without realizing how and where it's usually used. Then...

Clueless: "Hey! They tell me a Berliner is a pancake. Or a doughnut. Or something. That true?"
German native speaker: "Er, no. Actually, a Berliner is a person from Berlin. To the overwhelming majority of Germans this is the only meaning of the word. Particularly in Berlin and its surroundings! Although quite a few people might understand you if you were in a bakery and pointing to the pastry in question. But then, they'd also sell it to you if you called it a Martian, you know."
Clueless: "Majority, huh? What about the others?"
German native speaker: "Well, in the Rhineland, particularly in Cologne, people do refer to this particular kind of pancake as Berliner Pfannkuchen, in short: Berliner. But..."
Clueless: "Yeah! You hear that, Rick? That's what this guy on the bus told us! They do call those pancakes Berliners in Germany!"
German native speaker: "No. Please. Listen to me. In Berlin, this kind of pastry is called Pfannekuchen. If you insisted on wanting to buy a Berliner in a Berlin bakery, they'd just think you were a nutcase. If you tried it in Bavaria, they'd give you short shrift, because they call them Krapfen. Faschingskrapfen, to be exact. Because, see, it's actually a special..."
Clueless: "Awesome! So, when Kennedy made his speech, he said he was a pancake, did he? He really said he was a pancake! That's just great! Can't wait to tell my pals! They're just going to **** themselves laughing!"

In short: everybody was cheering, all of the hundreds of thousands of real, live, anguished Berliners were deeply touched and overjoyed to have President Kennedy showing solidarity with them. And not because of some sort of imaginary linguistic blunder. I know this. Because, see, I've met people who were there, listening to the speech. And when you tell them about the pancake story, they'll just look at you blankly.