There have been very few individuals in the history of the United States Senate who have done a more masterful job in their role as a senator than Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts (U.S. Senator, 1962-present.)
Known as the "liberal lion" of the Democratic Party as well as the U.S. Senate, Sen. Kennedy has justly earned this nickname by advocating and supporting, with great energy, liberal issues that he sees as essential to not only his constituents in Massachusetts, but important to the welfare of this nation as well. Not only that, Kennedy has never been afraid to cross the aisle and with a true bipartisan spirit, work on bills with Republican senators that he feels is both important and necessary; despite the unpopularity in some cases of such a move from his Democratic colleagues in the Senate.
He is also known, quite rightly, as the "consciousness" of the Democratic Party. In the party itself, his words and advice are coveted by all sectors of Democrats, from precinct captains to presidential candidates. Also, as a senior member of the US Senate, his advice and counsel carries a lot of weight in many lawmakers' minds on both sides of the political fence, liberal or conservative. His backing and campaigning of Sen. Barack Obama literally sent shock-waves throughout the Democratic Party and the nation; and it goes without saying that his endorsement along with the other endorsements that Obama has garnered has perhaps given him the edge in the 2008 Democratic Presidential primary race over Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY.)
Although marred by personal tragedy and scandal over the course of not only his personal life, but his political career as well, Ted Kennedy has weathered nearly storm and come out of these situations stronger for it. Of course...it goes without saying (especially to history and political buffs) that one cannot overlook perhaps his most controversial moment in his life, that of the situation which took the life of Mary Jo Kopechne in an event that has come down the halls of time by the name of the "Chappaquiddick incident," an incident that perhaps affected his decision not to run for president in 1972 and his run in 1980; an election in which he came close to overturning incumbent President Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign.
Yet, it must be said that as a seasoned political animal, Kennedy perhaps realized that while he would probably never be elected president, he did have the ability to affect both senatorial and national politics for decades to come, something that historically, has rung true. (Consequentially, Senator Kennedy's influence in the senate has been historically prevalent throughout eight presidential administrations, John F. Kennedy through George W. Bush.)
So in your trials and your sufferings as you begin to recover, I would like, on behalf of all members of the Democratic Party and the people of this nation, to wish you a healthy recovery in your fight against cancer. Also, on behalf of the people of this country and the party, I would like to say a heartfelt "thank you" for your service to this nation. You are justly deserving to stand amongst the Senate immortals and, perhaps more personally, stand on the same ground as your vaunted and honored brothers, President John F. and Atty. General-Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
PS: I would like to express my most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of former Carter Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan (1979-80,) who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday at age 63. Jordan was a key advisor to Jimmy Carter's presidential run in 1976 and, seemingly out of nowhere, helped make a relatively unknown one-term Georgia governor the President of the United States. With the advice and counsel of Jordan, Carter shockingly beat some of the most influential Democrats in 1976 such as Gov. George Wallace (D-AL,) Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson (D-WA,) Rep. Morris Udall (D-AZ,) Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA,) and my favorite US Senator, Robert Byrd (D-WV,) to garner the Democratic nomination.
He will be sorely missed.
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