It's been interesting this week, reading Thurston Clarke's book on Robert Kennedy's 82 day campaign for the presidency in 1968 as the media finds itself consumed by the life and times of the last son of Joe Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy. Interesting, because as great and lasting an imprint that Ted Kennedy has left on America, I continue to be struck by the emotional impact that Bobby Kennedy's assassination had on the American psyche -- and fascinated by the mercurial charisma of the third Kennedy son. Here's an ominous snippet from the campaign trail:
Before returning to the Kansas City airport, the Kennedy press corps stopped for a quick restaurant meal. Jimmy Breslin asked a table of reporters, “Do you think this guy has the stuff to go all the way?”
“Yes, of course he has the stuff to go all the way,” John J. Lindsay replied. “But he’s not going to go all the way. The reason is that somebody is going to shoot him. I know it and you know it. Just as sure as we’re sitting here somebody is going to shoot him. He’s out there now waiting for him And, please God, I don’t think we’ll have a country after it.”
There was a stunned silence. Then, one by one, the other reporters agreed. But none asked the most heartbreaking question: Did Kennedy himself know it?
Bobby Kennedy proved to many that out of trauma can come hope, that from despair emerges vision. But it was Ted Kennedy -- the only son to go the distance -- who died a natural death. He wrote more than 300 pieces of legislation over his long Senate career, and was both a lightning rod and a champion in American liberal politics over multiple generations.
Below are a few items that have caught my eye this weekend about Ted Kennedy:
TIME Magazine reports that Kennedy's memoir will be published in mid-September, less than a month after his death. The 532-page volume is sure to be one of the best selling books in America this fall.
Talking Points Memo has published President Obama's eulogy of Kennedy online:
What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we can know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of other human beings.
This is how Ted Kennedy lived. This is his legacy. He once said of his brother Bobby that he need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, and I imagine he would say the same about himself. The greatest expectations were placed upon Ted Kennedy's shoulders because of who he was, but he surpassed them all because of who he became. We do not weep for him today because of the prestige attached to his name or his office. We weep because we loved this kind and tender hero who persevered through pain and tragedy - not for the sake of ambition or vanity; not for wealth or power; but only for the people and the country he loved.
I'll end where I often end in poignant moments of national importance -- with the depth of reporting often found on National Public Radio.
