Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Teddy Kennedy, You Will be Missed

It's no small secret that I have a great deal of time for the Kennedy clan. A year ago to the date of his death he gave what I would call his best speech ever. America has lost it's voice of reason in the Senate.





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5 comments:

Tom Degan said...

The lion sleeps....

"....to speak for those who have no voice; to remember those who are forgotten; to respond to the frustration and fulfill the aspiration of all Americans seeking a better life in a better land....for all those whose cares have been our concern, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

Edward Moore Kennedy, August 12, 1980

I'll never forget the night Ted Kennedy gave that speech at the Democratic National Convention after failing to win his party's nomination for the presidency. I was staying in a one-room kitchenette in Liverpool, NY, just outside of Syracuse. It was - and remains - the greatest political oration of my lifetime. Watching the event on a small, black and white TV I instinctively knew I was witnessing one of those sublime moments in American history that would be remembered a century into the future.

Teddy Kennedy died late last night at the age of seventy-seven. In a life that is littered with ironies, here's the biggest one of all: His three older brothers - Joe, Jack and Bobby - are eternally frozen in our imagination as the personifications of youth. How poignant that our final image of the baby of that family will be as an old man, frail and mortally ill.

An incredible realization just came to me: Teddy represented the state of Massachusetts for forty-six years, eight months and nineteen days. That is nearly three months longer than all the years his older brother Jack lived on earth. Forgive the cliche that is so overused it has become trite through repetition, but this really is the end of an era.

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

Robert G. Harvie, Q.C. said...

Already the blog world is alive with commentary regarding the substance of work.. what impresses me, and which I blogged about today, is not the content of his message, which I may disagree with - but the example set by he and his older brothers, including the oft-forgotten Joseph, who gave their all to make the world just a little bit better than when they got here.

You may disagree with the message, but you cannot disagree with the devotion.

Pedro said...

the guy was a womanizing drunk who knew the right words to say to fool a good many naive persons who think that there is only good in the world.
honestly, you and your commenters ascribe only evil intentions to conservative politicians - ya think Teddy was noble?
Ya want him as a hero, keep him.
I tell my kids the truth about these louts.
C'mon, you think these are the worst stories about him:
http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_5585&pageNum=5
Keep yer drunken lout heroes!

Robert G. Harvie, Q.C. said...

..brings to mind a certain "drunken lout" former PM who took money from greasy Germans in brown paper bags, no?

It is one thing to attack a person's integrity as he seeks to acquire office and seeks the trust of the electorate. It is another thing, on the day of their passing, to ignore the effort of someone who, as flawed as they may be, has given a life to public service - and whose family lost three sons long before their time, in the service of the public.

penlan said...

Pedro,
Go back into the hole you accidently crawled out of - & shut the door behind you.