To paraphrase Pat Buchanan, when God puts his hands on a man’s shoulder, I take mine off. Well said. The time to rip Ted was when he was engaged in the debate. Not now.
My parents hadn’t even met when he was sworn in as a Senator.
Forty six years is way too long for anyone to have the same job, especially a politician.
Seventy seven is young by today’s standards, but old for a Kennedy man. He survived a plane crash in 1964, or he could have met the same fate as his three older brothers. Jay Fitzgerald at the great Hub Blog,
The youngest brother lived a long life, growing old and exploring stages of life that some of his siblings never saw. He found balance and happiness later in life. For that reason, there’s a speck of joy within today’s genuine sorrow.
The most positive aspect of Ted Kennedy’s legacy, especially for Massachusetts residents, is not the legislation but the tens of thousands of things his office did for constituents under the radar. Most everyone agrees that his staff is among, if not the, best in Washington. Dan Kennedy has more thoughts along those lines at Media Nation.
The most negative thing I’ll say about Ted today is this, because it involves his job as a senator, not his personal failings…It would be a mistake to ignore the responsiblity Kennedy bears for lowering the bar for political rhetoric and debate in America. His performance during the Bork and Thomas hearings was disgraceful.
Liberal columnist David Corn make a great point this am, via Twitter,
Kennedy showed how much a politician can get done in Washington once s/he gives up the dream of being president. RIP
I wonder what this means for Cape Wind?
How long before John Kerry pulls a Barbara Boxer…”Please call me senior senator, I’ve worked so hard for that title.”
Will be interesting to see how many of our comfortable Congressmen with positions virtually guarenteed for life, will throw their hats into the ring…Markey? Lynch? Frank? Capuano?
Outside of the Red Sox, I don’t think I’ll be watching much TV for the next few days.