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and his drinking problems were well known.
I remember the Mary Jo Kopechne incident well, and his story never hung together. I suspect the truth was that he was driving drunk, went off the bridge, panicked, saved himself, and left Mary Jo to drown in the car. Not a pretty story in any sense, but not surprising for someone who was probably an uncontrolled alcoholic at the time. (And this was the summer after he lost yet another brother to assassination, so the temptation to drink would have been stronger than ever.)
A former teaching colleague of mine was related to the man who served as bailiff during the ensuing court proceedings, which, as I recall, were closed to the media. According to her, the bailiff would not reveal any details of what was said in court except to comment that Ted Kennedy would never be able to run for president.
He cleaned up his act in later years, and despite his many, many personal problems, he has consistently advocated for the interests of the non-wealthy of this country.
Compare and contrast his story with that of another alcoholic with a history of "youthful indiscretions," who has never given two hoots for anyone who wasn't part of his country club set.
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