The Lion will roar no more...

[lagilman]

Edward "Teddy" Kennedy, 1932 - 2009

Remove your hat and stand for his passing, ladies and gentlemen. Whatever you thought of the man, whatever you thought of his politics, a legend has left the Senate chambers. For nearly fifty years he represented his constituents with humanity and conviction, and gave us glimmers of the legacy that Might Have Been.

The lights are gone out in the castle on the hill. The lion is sleeping, now.


My only hope is that, in his memory, Washington will be able to pass health care reform that Teddy would have approved of...

Comments

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

There aren't that many left with his sort of stature in the Senate. Lugar and Leahy, perhaps, but neither have Kennedy's presence.

An era is passing.

[chibiaingeal.livejournal.com]

Whatever you thought of the man, whatever you thought of his politics, a legend has left the Senate chambers. For nearly fifty years he represented his constituents with humanity and conviction, and gave us glimmers of the legacy that Might Have Been.

My feelings exactly. I wasn't a fan of his, but I did begrudigingly respect him for the very reasons you named.

I also can't help but to feel that has he been able to be in the Senate chambers he'd have helped hammer out a viable compromise for healthcare reform because he was so damned good at getting both sides to come together.

I echo your sentiment passing reform in his memory.

huh

[lagilman]

I'm curious why you begrudged him that respect, if you felt he earned it...

Re: huh

[chibiaingeal.livejournal.com]

That is actually a good question for which I'd have to do some soul searching to answer.

That said my first instinct would be that aspects of his personal life (including Chappaquiddick) may have tainted my feelings for him (as well as growing up around huge anti-Kennedy sentiment that, like a lot of other negativity I grew up around, has taken years to overcome) but I would definitely acknowledge that he did good work in the Senate no matter what I think of what he did (or did not do) in his personal life.

Sadly, I only made the realization about his good work in the last couple of years or so. I also respect him for the strength he'd been to the clan through the myriads of tragedy that they had to endure over the years - way more than their fair share, IMO.

Re: huh

[lagilman]

our of curiosity again, were you even born when Chappaquiddick was in the news?

It was a terrible and preventable tragedy, absolutely, but I'd hate to think it's the only thing he is judged by, after almost eight decades...

Re: huh

[chibiaingeal.livejournal.com]

Yes, actually. Granted, I'm only a few months older than you so I was very, very young.

Again, that was just off the top of my head as to why my feelings for him were tainted. A lot of the opinions that were formed of him about his personal life come from the same slanted sources as Chappaquiddick and from that anti-Kennedy sentiment I grew up around. It's not so easy to just forget years and years of such words that I heard from my earliest years - it's a lot like brain-washing/imprinting - though I do work at it.

I respected the work he did as a Senator. And one aspect of him from his personal side that I respect is the strength he displayed through tragedy after tragedy after tragedy after tragedy.

And the sad thing is that though I've been working to overcome my feelings for his PERSONAL conduct (because I know I've never had the whole story on any of the things ever reported about him), there are going to be tons of people who will forever hold Chappaquiddick (and other things) against him.

[caroleannmoleti.livejournal.com]

Yes, a sad day. For all his faults and foibles, Ted Kennedy cared deeply about the American people, as did his brothers. Perhaps the focus on his legacy will guide the health care reform debate back in the right trajectory.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

I heard this on France Info today, and though I knew it was coming, it shocked me that his life was over. I too hope that congress will pass a healthcare reform that he could have supported. But I doubt they will.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Damn.

I knew it was only a matter of time, but still.

[argillaceous-d.livejournal.com]

I will always have a special fondness for Ted Kennedy because of how he inspired my mother to fight her terminal cancer.

Mom was diagnosed about a month before he was with an entirely different form of cancer. She underwent treatment for awhile locally, which she did not tolerate well. On top of that, it didn't really reverse anything, just slow things down.

She had gotten fed up with her care and had decided to discontinue treatment when she saw that Kennedy was going to Duke for treatment. She had a doctor at Duke as she had gone there for a second opinion with one of the top specialists in the country.

At that point she decided to fight again with the cry, "If it's good enough for a Kennedy, it's good enough for me!"

Although Mom lost her battle earlier this year, she was much happier with her treatment and with the staff at Duke Clinic. Some days, she was almost her old self and I got to spend a lot of quality time with her.

Ted Kennedy will always have my gratitude for helping to keep Mom around a bit longer...