Senator Kennedy has died

[ASTalumna06]

Growing up in New England, it was weird to move somewhere else and not have people fully understand The Kennedys as they are known in the far northeast. As someone has already said, they really were like royalty.

I didn't agree with Senator Kennedy's policies much at all, and I've made the same comments and jokes about Chappaquiddick that everyone else has. But I was able to listen to 96.9fm (a Boston station) this morning on the internet, for only an hour before work, and I can't even tell you how many phone calls were made in to the show by people who had a good memory to share about Ted Kennedy. And not just things that they saw on tv, but actual interactions that they had with him, whether it be in person, on the phone, through email or letters.

There was one woman who called in who said that her mother died not too long ago, and while going through her things, she found a letter from Kennedy that, to sum it up, basically said, "Thank you for all of your support during this time." This was shortly after the Chappaquiddick story broke, and she assumed that her mother wrote a letter to the senator saying that she was still standing behind him.

Another person mentioned how one of his friends was in the military, and while fighting overseas, his wife was killed in a car accident. He returned home, and was obviously extremely upset. They told him some time later that he would have to return to active duty, but he was still extremely upset and didn't feel that he would be able to perform his job as he did before. He contacted the senator, and a short time later he received word that he would not be required to return.

Someone else called and said that he had met Kennedy at a charity event, they struck up a conversation, he gave the senator his business card, and he received a "holiday card" from Kennedy a couple weeks later. The two then began conversing, and from then on would just chat on the phone every so often, about everyday things.

Whatever his policies, he definitely was someone who looked out for the people of Massachusetts, and for everyone in this country, and who was always willing to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to help out the little guy.

[Leslie Anne]

I'm so sad about this. What a loss. Rest in peace, Senator. Thank you for serving our country for so long and so valiantly.

[DreamsComeTrue]

I first heard this last night during a "breaking news" update on NBC...so very sad

Also, I watched Obama & Biden's speeches on CNN this morning regarding the senators passing and was very touched and almost brought to tears by the very personal nature of the speeches.

Rest In Peace Senator Kennedy

[AlphaBeta100]

Wow so very sad, RIP Senator Kennedy

[Benzgirl]

RIP.

[KSig RC]

It's a very American story, isn't it?

The guy worked his whole life to overcome challenges ranging from gross personal misfortune to gross negligence on his part to a lingering (and generally unfair, save with regard to the previous two items) specter of nepotism and favoritism for the rich. Per the reactions here, it looks like he did - there's definitely some good in showing that sort of redemptive quality for a guy who stayed amazingly steadfast in his beliefs and political goals for well over five decades, even during times when they weren't particularly popular.

[WCsweet<3]

You know, I have barely been around long enough to truly know everything Senator Kennedy did, however, he was such an inspiration.

This is very difficult for me and I do not entirely understand why.

RIP

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by WCsweet<3

Some people were upset by MJ dying. This is an entirely different level and everyone should be saddened by this loss.

Actually, there's a pretty solid argument to be made that it's almost exactly the same thing - a complete white-washing of anything negative in the historical record resulting in an overwhelmingly positive public response based solely in part of the man's legacy.

Kennedy did many respectable things in his life, worked hard for his causes and saw much more than his fair share of misfortune. But it's disingenuous to pretend he didn't profit, personally and professionally, from those misfortunes, and use those causes to serve his own ends - and especially in his early years, the man was far less than a saint. Have we forgotten Roger Mudd so easily?

That's what is the most interesting thing to me - Teddy was a deeply flawed man, one who ran the gamut from doing absolutely amazing things (literally the best Senator in history at going across the aisle and forging compromise) to positively dastardly (killing a woman and getting off without so much as a slap on the wrist).

[33girl]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Have we forgotten Roger Mudd so easily?

I was going to say "I love Roger Mudd!! What did he do??" So I wikied it. I really did live in a Republican household, because I have no recollection of this interview and I'm old enough to remember it. (By that I mean the 'rents weren't even paying attention because they were already on the Reagan train.)

When people say it is hitting them, I think they mean the whole passing of the concept of a family dynasty like the Kennedys - who we have never had anything else like in the US - rather than anything EMK did (or didn't do) in general. My mom was a mess when Jackie died, and I didn't understand it at all. Now I do.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by 33girl

When people say it is hitting them, I think they mean the whole passing of the concept of a family dynasty like the Kennedys - who we have never had anything else like in the US - rather than anything EMK did (or didn't do) in general. My mom was a mess when Jackie died, and I didn't understand it at all. Now I do.

Yeah, this probably plays a massive part in the whitewashing of the historical record, too - and like I said, I don't blame anybody for doing it (and that's beside the fact that his transgressions largely took part in a different era, especially for the media), and he really was an amazing dude (whether or not you liked him).

An interesting back-and-forth I saw earlier today basically proves this via example - one pundit labeled him the ultimate champion for the underprivileged, while the other basically said Kennedy started the "entitlement complex" that nearly dragged under welfare, the VA and grossly bloated US budgets for decades.

Both are likely true. I can't even think of the last American figure who so starkly displayed both the purest white and darkest black sides of the coin. He's an absolutely fascinating case study.

[BlueCarnation]

I had the fortune of working in the US Senate and working with his staff, many of whom became my good friends. Senator Kennedy, who, like all of us, had his failings, was a wonderful public servant who cared deeply about his family, staff and friends. It was an honor to have met him and I am sad for my friends who are so sad today. We have all benefitted in some way from legislation he helped enact, and we should be thankful for what he's done for us. It's a sad day.

[Gucci Model]

Originally Posted by buck1

Did you know he killed someone?

Hey! What do you know? So did Laura Bush!

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by Gucci Model

Hey! What do you know? So did Laura Bush!

Don't start with this - first, it's not worth engaging buck1 in this type of debate, he/she is just trying to get a rise out of people. Second, the Bush and Kennedy situations were different in a number of ways.

So, please don't even start with that type of discussion. Thanks.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Don't start with this - first, it's not worth engaging buck1 in this type of debate, he/she is just trying to get a rise out of people. Second, the Bush and Kennedy situations were different in a number of ways.

So, please don't even start with that type of discussion. Thanks.

We need a name for this, like Godwin, because that's already the 3rd time I have read that little back & forth today.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by buck1

I know Kennedy drove off a bridge, fled the scene and left somone to die like a coward. Is that your idea of integrity?

My idea of integrity is judging how someone lived his life by looking at his entire life and the trajectory of that life, not just at one incident, especially when that incident occured before the midway point in the person's life.

My idea of intergrity is also to refrain from hubris in judging the flaws of others; I have enough flaws and failings of my own to occupy my attention.