by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Aug 26, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

                  Succumbing to brain cancer, Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy (D-Mass.), left his humanitarian mark on the U.S. Senate—and indeed American history—fashioning the most important pieces of legislation since assuming his late brother’s, former President John F. Kennedy, senate seat in 1962.  Teddy was the youngest of four sons of former Amb.Josseph P. Kennedy Sr., for former ambassador to England under Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Ted’s eldest brother Joe Jr., groomed to one day be president, was shot down Aug. 12, 1944 in the English Channel by Hitler’s Luftwaffe during WW II   His next older brother John was assassinated Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas, only one year after Teddy entered the senate.  His next youngest brother, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated June 6, 1968 in Los Angeles after winning the California primary.  Teddy carried family’s political torch of lifting the disadvantaged.

            While difficult to speculate, Ted probably would have become president had it not been for a late-night car accident in 1969 in which he ran his car into the drink from Chappaquiddick Island, causing the drowning death of his passenger, former Bobby Kennedy campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne.  Waiting over 12 hours to file a police report damaged Ted’s reputation, surviving in the senate but failing to rehabilitate his presidential ambitions.  His post-Chappaquiddick life transformed Kennedy into a serious, legislation-oriented senator, carrying out his family’s legacy.  Ted withdrew his presidential bid in 1980, handing incumbent President Jimmy Carter an ill-fated campaign against former President Ronald Reagan.  Given the state of the economy in 1980, it’s doubtful Teddy would have beaten Reagan.  Since 1969, no U.S. senator produced more influential legislation than Teddy.

            Teddy’s political legacy stemmed from one of the nation’s most celebrated and successful Irish immigrant families, considered by some as “American royalty.”  Despite the family’s wealth, the Kennedy’s championed the immigrant’s plight, never forgetting the hardship of fleeing the Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1800s, immigrating to the New World and facing the struggle for survival and acceptance.  When Teddy is laid to rest August 29, he’ll join his brothers Joe, John, and Robert in Arlington National Cemetery.  He especially carried the passion and idealism of his brother John, whose 1,000-day presidency inspired a generation to new heights.  Despite ups-and-downs in his private life, including his 1982 divorce of his wife Joan and 1991 drunken escapade in West Palm Beach with his son Patrick and physician nephew, William Kennedy Smith who was accused of rape

            Ted’s legislative accomplishments, too many to name, include sponsoring health insurance for children of the working poor, the historic American with Disabilities Act, Meals on Wheels for the elderly, family planning clinics, American Family Leave Act and creation of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration.  Teddy worked tirelessly with former President George W. Bush to pass the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill, the first major benefit added since 1964.  “You couldn’t help but like him, but, on the other hand, the fights were real and they were knockdown drag-out battles.  But that’s the way it should be,” said conservative Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Ut.).  “We were like fighting brothers,” attesting to Kennedy’s fierceness when it came to his causes.  Despite his liberal ways, Ted formed more partnerships and working bonds with conservatives to advance his legislation.

            Diagnosed with brain cancer in May 2008 after suffering a seizure, Ted fought back from brain surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, returning to the limelight at the Democratic National Convention August 25, 2008.  After endorsing then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) Jan. 27, 2009 with his niece Caroline Kennedy less than two weeks before Super Tuesday, Ted knew Barack must beat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in his quest for the nomination.  Teddy showed extraordinary courage returning from brain surgery, radiation and chemo to endorse Barack.  “And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to this cause.  The work begins anew.  The hope rises again.  And the dream lives on,” paraphrasing JFK’s inaugural address and Teddy’s concession speech in 1980.

            Foundering trying to sell his national health care plan, Barack needs Kennedy’s name on the legislation to have a chance of passing.  No one worked harder over his lifetime, including Hillary, for national health care than Ted Kennedy.  Attaching his name to the bill would help encourage Ted’s Republican friends to support legislation to fulfill his personal dream of creating national health care.  “I had hoped and prayed that this day would never come.  My heart and soul weeps at the loss of my best brined in the Senate, my beloved friend, Ted Kennedy,” said 91-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the oldest member of the U.S. Senate.   Byrd shares the same feelings with his Senate and House colleagues, whose politics diverged but whose abiding respect for Kennedy’s legacy could build the bipartisan consensus needed to see national health care become a reality.

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.