Let’s forget that throw-away line about going into space just “because it is hard.”
Kennedy himself did not believe that. He had other reasons (political reasons) for wanting to do Project Apollo.
Many things are hard. Building a life-size replica of the Eiffel Tower out of spaghetti would be hard, but you won’t find millions of people who want to do that. There are millions of people who want to go into space, however. Why?
There is no single answer to that question. There are as many reasons for going into space as there are people who want to go. We don’t need politicians to tell us why we want to go into space, any more than we need politicians to tell us why we want to go to Disneyland, Las Vegas, or Yellowstone National Park.
While true that we don’t probably “need” politicians to tell us (space enthusiasts) why we want to go to space, making the case to critics outside our community seems at least less mischief than they normally get up to.
Such speeches may both reduce opposition to investment in space, and help motivate supporters like us to contemplate why we feel drawn to the stars & compelled to reach other worlds and peoples.