The name Ted Kennedy triggers an immediate response in most Americans, a response either very positive or very negative. But from those who knew him, the response is overwhelmingly positive. Even his most powerful political foes speak highly of him, highlighting his willingness to work across party lines and his commitment to helping people everywhere he went.
Although he was a Senator from Massachusetts, he often represented the disenfranchised across the country. His home state is among the smallest in the nation, but his vision stretched from one coast to the other. He cared deeply about the big issues that affect us all, whether we’re in Texas or Maine.
Civil rights. Education. Gay rights. Universal health care.
He was a leader on all those fronts, and many more.
His personal life often distracted from his political accomplishments, but in the end, it will be his 47 years in the Senate that defines how history views him. And I think it will do so kindly.
He had a family name that he leveraged every chance he got. He didn’t talk much about being a Kennedy, but he used the power of that name to achieve more than either Jack or Bobby did. He took longer, but most of his fights were long-term projects. They would have taken longer than a presidential tenure.
In the end, the country is better off that he never became president. Instead of 8 years to pursue his goals, he had 47. Like Martin Luther King, he didn’t live to see all his dreams realized, but like MLK, he got a lot done.
He’s lying in state tonight at his big brother’s library and museum, and people have been lining up since the early hours to pay their respects. Thousands lined the roads along the route of the motorcade that took him there. It’s the kind of response one would expect for a president.
That he commanded the respect and affection of his opponents as well as his supporters paints the full picture of the man. And that in spite of his personal foibles.
No man is perfect. None will ever be. But some are more perfect than others when it matters. He was a horribly-flawed human being, as most of us are. But he never lost sight of the world he wanted to help create.
One that was better, fairer and more just than the one he inherited. And that will be his legacy, one earned over decades of relentless work.
He was called "the lion of the Senate" for good reason, and I will miss his roar deeply and profoundly.
We loved him well. He was not ours to keep.
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