Senator Edward Kennedy dies at 77

Wow...its really the end of a dynasty....the Kennedy Brothers....Jack, Bobby, Teddy. Was awakened by my friend in Washington about 10 minutes ago to give me the news. R.I.P. to the Liberal Lion of the Senate!!

Two well-known political individuals die from brain cancer within a few weeks of each other. Count me as one who mourns the death of both Robert Novak and Ted Kennedy, about as opposite as you can get.

Interestingly it is more often in developed countries, or those with longer life spans, that people live long enough to die of cancer.

Kennedy was a better athlete than academic. He caught the only touchdown in a Harvard loss to Yale:



There are still commercial commemorative photos of him available, posing here with teammate Bob Morrison:



His weight gain after ending a football career is unfortunately more typical than not, but it is obvious that activity and youth (him on the right) kept it off in college:

I am deeply and profoundly saddened this morning. The voice of health care reform is gone. Its hard to believe. I knew this was coming, but even so, its hitting me like a ton of bricks. I have so many Kennedy memories from over the years. Teddys legacy must be preserved, and President Obama is going to have to find some way to continue the health care reform battle without its liberal lion leader. We all know the health reform battle has not gone well for President Obama without him. I don't know if Teddy can be replaced. Somebody is going to have to try and fill a huge pair of shoes.

Very likely the best senator of my lifetime. Of course the cable-news morons are talking about nothing but political horseraces and "the dynasty" and not his many legislative achievements on behalf of the poor, elderly, women and minorities, etc. (Ted did way more for these groups than Jack and Bobby combined.)

The only proper tribute the Dems could make is to ram through a SINGLE-PAYER healthcare system, but they simply don't want to.

Crew Chief, I am appalled that you mentioned that other creature in the same sentence with Kennedy.

Truly a sad day for us & a great loss for America! RIP Ted.

Sportinlife, thanks for the pictures of Kennedy playing football. I knew that he had a love of sailing but didn't know that he was an athlete in college.

I have been touched by the stories about his intense interest in helping people on a personal level. Biden's speech today was moving when he shared about how Kennedy was so supportive of him when he was a young Senator and lost his wife and child in an auto accident.

He wasn't a saint, by any account, but he was a great public servant. He will be missed.

I agree totally. While Teddy and others in his clan have on occassion had messy private lives I think you do have to admire and respect their dedication to public service either through elective office or through their charitable foundations. They could so easily lived private lives with great wealth and not lifted a finger to benefit the public at large. I think they are a family that live their lives to the fullest with all the highs and lows that comes with that.

I mention it because, among other less significant reasons, Senator Kennedy was the kind of individual who unlike you can look beyond ideological differences and harbor not an ounce of venomous hatred toward someone with whom he may have disagreed. When Novak was diagnosed with a brain tumor like Teddy was, it was the latter who reached out to Novak to comfort him.

In his last months of his life, Kennedy and his wife comforted Novak, who died shortly before Ted from the same type of brain tumor that took Kennedy's life. When Novak was diagnosed last year, Vicki Kennedy reached out to Novak with the lessons they'd learned about treatment. "Senator Kennedy and his wife have treated me like a close friend . . . and urged me to opt for surgery at Duke University, which I did," Novak wrote in one of his last published columns. "The Kennedys were not concerned by political and ideological differences when someone's life was at stake, recalling at least the myth of milder days in Washington."

That to me says a lot about Senator Kennedy, who was still good friends with those with whom he had even major disagreements. It would serve you well to learn from the man and discard such dislike of someone just because you don't like his/her political views.

I totally co-sign with that Crew Chief. This kind of thing goes beyond partisan politics.

Indeed. Too bad too many politicians nowadays can't separate the two and instead dislike or even despise the individual who espouses contradictory views. Kennedy never came across that way. Sure, he often was a forceful voice in the Senate, but after a fiery speech, he'd often go up to a Republican Senator who was diametrically opposed to Kennedy and give him a hug and smile and go out with him later for dinner or something else enjoyable.

To me, that shows a man who still respects and loves the person and looks past ideology.

Some years ago, when I lived in Massachusetts, I had the opportunity to vote for Kennedy, and did so with real excitement. He was and remains one of the most effective Senators we've ever had. If you consider even a small portion of the legislation he wrote, co-wrote, sponsored, or just strongly supported and helped pass and consider its real-world effects, it's clear that he is one of the most important legislators in US history.

26th Amendment to the Constitution; Voting Rights Act of 1965; Medicare and Medicaid; the 1965 immigration reform bill; Title IX; American with Disabilities Act; OSHA; minimum wage increases; family leave act; SCHIP; COBRA; peace negotations in Northern Ireland; sanctions against South Africa; and on and on.

He made some terrible personal mistakes, the worst and most tragic being Chappaquiddick. He had to live with Mary Jo Kopechne's death for the last 40 years. That was always on his conscience. But he also did so much to help so many, when he could have just been a rich, drunken playboy. He chose not to do that. Whatever his flaws, and those of his brothers, or his father, he turned in the end to have been one of the best people this country was fortunate to elect. The people of Massachusetts, the US, and the world are indebted to him. God bless him and the entire Kennedy family.

I have 2 thoughts.

First, I wonder what that freak of nature/bad sex change (Coulter) will say. Probably something vile.

Second. There were 4 Kennedy brothers.

Oldest was Joe. Grew up being groomed for politics, but killed in WW2 when the plane he was flying blew up.

Second: John

Third: Robert

Fourth: Edward (Teddy)

I have a book at home about Joe, and he is called "The Forgotten Kennedy".

Now all 4 brothers can go sailing again.

This is true Lk. Its going to be interesting to see if the great health care debate for reform will be picked up and carried on by President Obama, or if it goes the opposite way and his death causes more of a stalling out. I hope for the former. The torch has been passed on to President Obama, and I hope he finds a ( louder) voice for health care reform. Its what Teddy would want.

Here in Boston it has been all Teddy all the time for two solid days. I don't know how the national media has been covering this but here it is the only topic. I live less than a mile away from the JFK library, where there were a reported 6,ooo people still in line @ midnight to get inside. For so many people here, they and their parents and grandparents have lived with the Kennedy mystique all their lives. Tomorrow's funeral is going to be something.

Lk...I am aware of Joe Jr. He was the one that papa Joe wanted to become President. John was actually looked at as being kind of skinny and weak. He was always sickly and overlooked by papa Joe until Joe Jr died. Then papa Joe set his sights on grooming John. As much as the country revered JFK as this young and strong president, JFK had a lot of medical issues and according to those close to the family and Kennedy administration, he traveled with a pharamacy of drugs to deal with his various ailments. Its just that Joe died so early and before "Camelot" that I just lump Jack, Bobby, and Ted together.

I was present to see Teddy Kennedy as the guest speaker at the Fenway Community Health Center Men's Event a couple of months before his diagnosis. (For those who don't know, "the Fenway" is a large healthcare organization that serves many in Boston's GLBT community.) I had never seen him speak in public, but was amazed by his ability to charm the crowd for an hour without notes, without prompting. He could have talked about all he did for the gay community (more than just about any oyther senator), but his focus was all about the Fenway and its mission to treat GLBT folks and the local poor. He got a standing ovation that went on and on. I never really appreciated Teddy for all he did, despite living in MA for 20 years, but he will be sorely, sorely missed.

During the memorial last night, Biden particularly focused on Ted's being a friend to the GLBT community. I'm not sure it was intentional- he may have been talking to someone about gay issues earlier in the evening and that's what happened to come out when he spoke of how he helped to change society. He spoke of the young guy anguished over his sexuality being more free and willing to come out because of Ted or something vaguely like that. (He may have used the word choose as opposed to acknowledge he was gay- maybe I can find it somewhere on the internet). He also said Ted "changed the way way blacks and whites see each other, the ways straights see gays and gays see straights."

It is the end of a dynasty as the original poster stated. I liked so much of Ted's policies such as pro choice, pro gay, anti war and anti poverty/pro healthcare. I am troubled that what happened to Mary Jo K is being ignored by the press. He was no saint for sure. I think his second wife really made him clean up his act.

I didn't see a retrospective that omitted that incident. I shed a tear or two during his son's speeches today and thought Obama's was excellent. Here's a link for Biden's speech at the memorial should anyone have an interest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rR5xWQ-HOk

The service was moving, especially Teddy Jr, as was the stop at the Capital. While burial at dusk was not planned I think the darkness has the advantage of giving the family a chance to say their final good byes in private.

It was a very moving service. I was so happy that the family remained true to themselves and injected some political philosophy without politicizing the service.

It really is amazing how someone who could have just taken refuge in a wealthy white privileged world dedicated his life's work to improving things for those who needed it most. Even the church he chose for his funeral is dedicated to helping the poor.

One thing I wish the media would focus on more is all the hypocrites , mainly republicans, who are now singing the praises of Sen. Kennedy, and how close they were to him, but spent a great deal of effort demonizing him while he was alive.