Edward Moore Kennedy, United States Senator from Massachusetts, died last night of brain cancer.
This death comes at a peculiarly poignant time, what with his older sister, Special Olympics founder Eunice Shriver, having just died a couple of weeks ago.
Everyone on the cable news channel MSNBC has been talking about what a giant Ted Kennedy was, and it's impossible for even the most politically arch-conservative Americans to argue. Kennedy, in nearly 47 years in the Senate, crafted legislation that reshaped America far more than most lawmakers were able to do, from civil rights legislation and education equality laws to job training programs and expansion of medical insurance. It is this legacy that remained incomplete in Kennedy's last months as President Obama tried to push universal health care through, only to meet unexpected opposition in a political climate more poisoned than anyone realized.
Kennedy was a compromiser in the Henry Clay mold who could work with Republicans and counted several of them among his friends. He commanded the attention and respect of that another Massachusetts senator, Daniel Webster, in standing up fro a stronger nation. His faults and his mistakes aside - that's enough about Chappaquiddick, thank you - Kennedy's personal compassion and his unwavering fight for equality and justice were a perfect match match for the kind of temperament that is so sorely lacking in Washington today. To sat that he will be missed is an understatement. RIP. :-(
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