“Senator Kennedy and I both witnessed too many wars in our lives, and believed too strongly in the Constitution of the United States to allow us to go blindly into war. That is why we stood side by side in the Senate against the war in Iraq.” – Senator Robert Byrd
“He and I both came to the Senate the same year as part of the class of ’62. And I sat side-by-side with him for several years in the Senate and we remained close friends over the years,” McGovern recalled. “He was probably as hard a working person as I knew at the Senate. He got to the office early and worked late. He definitely was a senator’s senator. I never thought that either John or Robert Kennedy’s first love was the Senate. They were thinking first about the executive branch. But Ted, throughout his long career, was wedded to the Senate. And I think, over time, he became the greatest Senator of the 20th Century.” – George McGovern
“He is admired around the world as the senator of senators.” – Gordon Brown
“Most Americans will never know how many things Ted Kennedy did to make their lives better, how many things he prevented that would have hurt them, and how tenaciously he fought on their behalf. In 1969, for example, he introduced a bill in the Senate calling for universal health insurance, and then, for the next forty years, pushed and prodded colleagues and presidents to get on with it. If and when we ever achieve that goal it will be in no small measure due to the dedication and perseverance of this one remarkable man. We owe it to him and his memory to do it soon and do it well.” – Robert Reich
“The outpouring of love, gratitude and fond memories which we have all witnessed is a testimony to the way this singular figure in American history touched so many lives.” – Barack Obama
“His first commitment was always to the people in need.” – Jimmy Carter
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I would ask you to consider whether you would feel the same way had your daughter or sister been Mary Jo Kopechne. Are you aware that after Ted Kennedy drove his car off the bridge he swam to safety but then went back to his hotel without notifying authorities until the middle of the next morning? Do you also realize that experts say that there was an air pocket in the car that Mary Jo was positioned next to and was likely alive for some time and could have been saved had rescuers been notified? What kind of monster knows that someone is trapped in a car and will die, but does nothing about it?
I wish we lived in a perfect world, but reality doesn’t deliver the wish. We all do things we look back on with regret, but most of us move forward learning from our mistakes. I will leave any forther comment to that of Shaun Mullen on his blog, Kiko’s House http://kikoshouse.blogspot.com/2009/08/edward-kennedy-1932-2009.html Regardless, let’s hope the dream never dies.
Thanks for the comment.
. . . there are many more thoughts related to the history of Ted Kennedy and the Kennedy family — they experienced a war between light and dark, and in the end light won out — something one could say about our great country.
Here’s a link to another tribute — http://kikoshouse.blogspot.com/2009/08/edward-kennedy-1932-2009.html