Not really a big fan of Ted Kennedy until.....

[HardWorkingDem]

There was this excellent PBS documentary on the Kennedy family. It may have been just a special or something like the show An American Experience.

But before this show, I had bits and pieces about Ted Kennedy. This was way after the traffic accident and the incident in Florida. But after this show, it really made me look hard at Ted Kennedy and see him for the person he was.

In one way, he was not like us, but in another and more important way, he was just like us. He came from money, but never lost his care for every day people. Most likely, the experiences in his life probably made him care more for the every day people.


But what I take away from this documentary is the pain that that family felt. Two brothers murdered, one lost in war, one lost in a drowning accident, a sister with a horrible disease. There may have been more, but I can't recall perfectly.


When it came to his faults, who could not feel sympathy for not being like Ted Kennedy?

I believe we are the sum of our parts - both good and bad. And if these parts were not there, I don't think we would ever be the total.

[peacetalksforall]

1. I have so many thoughts - one involves his last flight being a one way from

Boston to Washington. Can you imagine all the flights he took between Boston and Washington? The work involved in what he did?

I can see him buried close to the ocean at Hyannis.

All three of them.

At Arlington, they continue to give in yet another way and they kind of belong to us.

[babylonsister]

2. Good point. They would all preferred to be near the ocean.

And they are not.

:thumbsup:

[aquart]

3. He wanted to be with his brothers.

I want it for him, too. So much I didn't know. He was so generous with his time and his heart. And a smart ass! Which is my kind of guy.

[regnaD kciN]

4. A smart-ass, indeed...

My favorite moment will always be his speech to the 1984 convention, when discussing the need for national health care, he commented that, of course, President Reagan had the best health care imaginable. If he found himself feeling ill in the middle of the night, all Reagan had to do was "reach over to his nightstand and push a button..."

(pause)

"...and let's all hope it's the right button." :rofl:

Some music video used the same joke later on, but Teddy was the one who first came up with it.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

5. Genesis Land of Confusion.

Is it possible that any one politician can/will ever be able to do as much for so many as EMK? I have hope, but I'm not holding my breath that one will emerge in my lifetime.