Edward Kennedy was the youngest of the four Kennedy brothers and was certainly not expected to become the patriarch of the family. Yet death came for each of his brothers, leaving Ted to be the only one who made it to 50. After JFK won his 1960 presidential bid, he gave his youngest brother a cigarette case with the words "And the last shall be the first," engraved on it. Tragedy made these ominous words come true, after a war took his oldest brother and his remaining brothers were both killed by an assassin's bullet. Fate made the last Kennedy brother the only one capable of finishing the work his older brothers had started.
Ted Kennedy started his first senate campaign in 1962, for the very same seat that his then-president brother had held since the 1950's. Unlike John and Bobby, Ted seemed more at home in the Senate and never imagined using his position as a stepping stone to a higher office. Now that JFK was president and Bobby was attorney general, the three Kennedy brothers had accomplished all that they could have hoped to accomplish. All that remained was to make good on the promises that had gotten them elected. Yet when John was killed in Dallas, the mantle fell upon Bobby, just as it had falled upon John when his older brother Joe perished in WWII.
After 4 short years in the Senate, Bobby took to the campaign trail in 1968, embracing the poor, the old, and the oppressed, using passion and promoting liberalism whereas his brother had been a staunch centrist. Bobby's campaign was not nearly as organized as JFK's, but the spirit of his movement was more than enough to rally millions of dedicated supporters to his cause. Yet like his brother John, Bobby fell to an assassin's bullet, just as his was giving a victory speech in a Los Angeles hotel after winning the California primary. A devasted Ted, now literally the last Kennedy brother, gave an emotional and stirring eulogy for Bobby, a task it seemed the Kennedy family had become resigned to carrying out. The nation had its eyes on Ted, wondering when, not if, his time would come. He refused to stand in for his slain brother at the Democratic Convention that year, and the infamous Chappaquiddick incident in which his car swerved off a bridge and plunged into a river, killing a woman who had worked on Bobby's campaign, kept him from running in 1972. Although 1976 seemed to be his best bet, he stood by and watched as Jimmy Carter took the nomination and the presidency.
Although Ted never really desired the presidency, which is completely understandable, considering what happened to his brothers in their presidential pursuits, he decided to oppose Carter's renomination in 1980. His campaign initially had incredible public support, until Ted gave a disastrous tv interview in which he couldn't state why he wanted to be president. A hostage situation in Iran later that year served to strengthen Carter's previously weak approval ratings, and a poorly organized campaign ultimately brought Ted's effort short of the success he needed to obtain the nomination. He did not concede until the convention, during which he gave his most famous and highly regarded speech. Although the end is undoubtedly the only part that the public remembers, the entire speech was a testament to everything his party, his brothers, and he personally had stood for since the 1960's. It was a sharp reminder of the responsibilities that the Democratic party held not only for themselves but for all Americans.
With his first and only run for the presidency behind him, Ted was finally able to put aside the obligation he felt towards his brothers and for the remainder of his life, fought in the senate on behalf of the causes that his brothers and his party had stood for. From education to welfare to equal rights to healthcare, he made his mark on America, in a much more subtle way than anyone named Kennedy had even done before. Although he did not inspire the country the way his brothers had, he was able to put his money where his mouth was. Since entering the Senate in the early 1960's, he had voted on some of the biggest bills in recent history, from the 1964 Civil Rights Act, to the 1965 Immigration Reform Act (both initially proposed by his brother John), to the various medical acts which laid the foundation for the current attempts for healthcare reform.
Ted never got to stand on the podium on January 20th and pledge to uphold the Constitution in front of the entire nation. He never got to advise Americans to ask what they could do for their country, he never got to ask a racially divided nation to embrace love and peace instead of violence and hatred. Instead he got to write the legislation that enabled so many to do the very things his brothers spoke of and dreamed of. There is no doubt that he made mistakes and was flawed. Yet unlike his brothers who did their jobs despite their flaws, Ted Kennedy understood his work better because of his flaws. He stood up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. As his brothers had done, he looked beyond the privledge and position that his birth afforded him to the needs of the nation as a whole.
A few days ago, Ted Kennedy's life came to an end. For those whose cares had been his concern, the work continues, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.
Ted Kennedy started his first senate campaign in 1962, for the very same seat that his then-president brother had held since the 1950's. Unlike John and Bobby, Ted seemed more at home in the Senate and never imagined using his position as a stepping stone to a higher office. Now that JFK was president and Bobby was attorney general, the three Kennedy brothers had accomplished all that they could have hoped to accomplish. All that remained was to make good on the promises that had gotten them elected. Yet when John was killed in Dallas, the mantle fell upon Bobby, just as it had falled upon John when his older brother Joe perished in WWII.
After 4 short years in the Senate, Bobby took to the campaign trail in 1968, embracing the poor, the old, and the oppressed, using passion and promoting liberalism whereas his brother had been a staunch centrist. Bobby's campaign was not nearly as organized as JFK's, but the spirit of his movement was more than enough to rally millions of dedicated supporters to his cause. Yet like his brother John, Bobby fell to an assassin's bullet, just as his was giving a victory speech in a Los Angeles hotel after winning the California primary. A devasted Ted, now literally the last Kennedy brother, gave an emotional and stirring eulogy for Bobby, a task it seemed the Kennedy family had become resigned to carrying out. The nation had its eyes on Ted, wondering when, not if, his time would come. He refused to stand in for his slain brother at the Democratic Convention that year, and the infamous Chappaquiddick incident in which his car swerved off a bridge and plunged into a river, killing a woman who had worked on Bobby's campaign, kept him from running in 1972. Although 1976 seemed to be his best bet, he stood by and watched as Jimmy Carter took the nomination and the presidency.
Although Ted never really desired the presidency, which is completely understandable, considering what happened to his brothers in their presidential pursuits, he decided to oppose Carter's renomination in 1980. His campaign initially had incredible public support, until Ted gave a disastrous tv interview in which he couldn't state why he wanted to be president. A hostage situation in Iran later that year served to strengthen Carter's previously weak approval ratings, and a poorly organized campaign ultimately brought Ted's effort short of the success he needed to obtain the nomination. He did not concede until the convention, during which he gave his most famous and highly regarded speech. Although the end is undoubtedly the only part that the public remembers, the entire speech was a testament to everything his party, his brothers, and he personally had stood for since the 1960's. It was a sharp reminder of the responsibilities that the Democratic party held not only for themselves but for all Americans.
With his first and only run for the presidency behind him, Ted was finally able to put aside the obligation he felt towards his brothers and for the remainder of his life, fought in the senate on behalf of the causes that his brothers and his party had stood for. From education to welfare to equal rights to healthcare, he made his mark on America, in a much more subtle way than anyone named Kennedy had even done before. Although he did not inspire the country the way his brothers had, he was able to put his money where his mouth was. Since entering the Senate in the early 1960's, he had voted on some of the biggest bills in recent history, from the 1964 Civil Rights Act, to the 1965 Immigration Reform Act (both initially proposed by his brother John), to the various medical acts which laid the foundation for the current attempts for healthcare reform.
Ted never got to stand on the podium on January 20th and pledge to uphold the Constitution in front of the entire nation. He never got to advise Americans to ask what they could do for their country, he never got to ask a racially divided nation to embrace love and peace instead of violence and hatred. Instead he got to write the legislation that enabled so many to do the very things his brothers spoke of and dreamed of. There is no doubt that he made mistakes and was flawed. Yet unlike his brothers who did their jobs despite their flaws, Ted Kennedy understood his work better because of his flaws. He stood up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves. As his brothers had done, he looked beyond the privledge and position that his birth afforded him to the needs of the nation as a whole.
A few days ago, Ted Kennedy's life came to an end. For those whose cares had been his concern, the work continues, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.
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