Remembering Ted Kennedy | 08/26/2009 9:10 am
He Wasn't 'Just' Ted Kennedy: A Remembrance by Joan Juliet Buck
As the nation mourns the loss of a great politician, Joan recalls the long-lasting impression Edward Kennedy made on her when she first heard him speak.
Democratic convention, Atlanta, 1988. A building called the Omni.
The candidate is Michael Dukakis, who seems like a compromise before we’ve even started.
High up in the press box I’m bored through the speeches of various tiny figures below, as are my august and far superior colleagues, men who know how to do this job of reporting on the workings of democracy. This mess of blah blah blahs and half measures seems hopeless, silly and most of all undistinguished. I’m half asleep, dozing away through half-heard inadequacies. And then I’m woken by something clear and strong — a man’s voice from far down below — proud cadences, measured tones, a combination of pacing and gravity that penetrates the cottony lethargy of the entire convention center.
It’s clear he has the brains, the fire and the mojo.
I still can’t see who is speaking, but I like every word.
I turn to the man next to me, a distinguished columnist, and ask, "Who is that? He has My Vote! That’s the only man who should be running for president."
A sneer and a shuffle from my right. "That’s just Teddy Kennedy."
Just Teddy Kennedy.
How Unjust.
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Here is a tribute to him http://sharepro.info/4013438be. Rest in Peace….let’s hope Obama can make things happen that would make him proud.
He was a beautiful man.
I came down hard on F.P. recently because of a blanket statement he made about politicians. And his opinion is unfortunately shared by millions of Americans that lump all politicians into the same category…. as egotistical, self centered, sleazy and dishonest.
However I believe politicians are like everyone else. They have their flaws. We attack them with our judgements when we hear of their infidelities, never once stopping to question if we are cheating, our spouse is cheating, a family, friend or neighbor is doing the same?
When we hear of their alcohol and drug abuse issues we pass judgement. As if no one in our respective families has any drug or alcohol abuse. It’s as if we expect politicians to do what we ourselves can not, and that is live perfect lives. Lives where they are 100% monogamous in their relationships. Never drink or do drugs. If they are Gay, well….how dare they be Gay, that should be kept in the closet. And then when they do keep it hidden, we jump all over them for hiding their sexuality.
Ted Kennedy comes from a family of men and women who in my opinion have their priorities straight. They truly care about their fellow men and women. They wanted to leave an imprint on the planet from their deeds. Not because of their family name, but because it is in the DNA of their family to do so. He drank. Yes. He had a zipper problem. Yep. We had a President with a zipper problem who did more for our country while serving in his two terms than the preceding administration did bar-none. Say what you will about Bill Clinton’s moral compass which is clearly off, but as a leader, scholar and politician he is and was brilliant.
So too was Ted Kennedy. We are running out of men like him. The new and up and coming politicians lack the intelligence, patience and savvy to lead. For those of us old enough to appreciate and remember all his accomplishments, this should be a day of mourning. And for those to young to have known him, today should be a day when you research all that he did for our country.
Belinda J.:
This is what I sent to all of our children earlier today:
Condolences to us all on the death of one of the greatest senators of my life time. And one of the hardest working. I’m profoundly saddened by his passing, at this time especially. Tho’ I haven’t always agreed w/him on political issues (mostly did tho’), the exquisite irony is that he hadn’t been able to participate in this dangerously childish health-care "debate." He held the key. He was The Man. For at least 40 years, this was his dream. Obama wouldn’t be in the quagmire he is in today if Teddy had been engaged. Ted would’ve worked both sides of the aisle, & against all odds, would’ve achieved what was really his legacy! He, and all of us, wuz robbed . . .
So it was with a great deal of comraderie and validation that I read your thread. I especially loved your description of Bill Clinton as a leader, scholar and brilliant politician. His brain tumor were his "gotchas." But he has in a sense survived his "tumor."
As for Senator Kennedy, your description of him as paramount in intelligence, savvy and patience were right on. Particularly "patience." Sometimes it’s subsumed in the word "perseverence," and in a sense they’re related. But those of us who are old enough to remember Ted Kennedy’s abundant accomplishments know that it has more to do with judgment and perspective.
Judith, your post brings a tear to my eye because you are dead on. Health care reform was Senator Kennedy’s dream….his driving ambition. And you are also correct, if he had been healthy enough, his voice in a room of debates on healthcare would have been dramatically different than what we are seeing. We praise Obama for his articulation, but Ted Kennedy had the articulation cushioned with warmth, patience and charm. When he spoke, people listened.
I pray that we do see some form of healthcare reform announced this Fall, but even if that does come to fruition, how sad it will be Judith that Teddy didn’t live long enough to see it happen. To see his dream finally realized. I meant what I said in my post, that all his personal sins aside, his heart was in the right place and he proved that by all of what he did to change our country. He will be missed by millions.
Lastly, isn’t it ironic that right this moment the country is filled with hundreds of thousands of men and women like Sen. Kennedy was, on their death bed, last leg, last breath, without health insurance. The only thing that separates them was he had coverage and they do not. All are days, weeks and months away from death because they can’t afford health coverage. While "we" engage in a debate about helping them live? Why should we spend government money for insurance for those who don’t have it?
I find the irony of that fascinating and sickening.
Belinda,
Fascinating and sickening. That describes our personal situation, or at least "sickening" does. (Not to criticize your choice of words at all, but from my perspective "sickening" seems a bit "punny." ) More appropriate to our situation is "ironically fascinating" and amoral and contemptible. You see, my husband has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). This is not something I wanted to mention on this or any other post, b/c I didn’t want to personalize an issue that for me has meaning far beyond an individual situation. And I always fear that individualizing an issue in some way reduces its relevance. My problem, not yours!
At this time in our journey, there are no complaints. Good care is given. But the journey has been filled with disastrous, immoral turns: My husband & I were both self-employed (not together; separate businesses) & paid $1275 per month for health insurance (United Health, a disaster). As he declined, I personally paid for morning care, weekdays only, & never asked for help. As he declined further, I asked insurance for some "respite care" while I was at my office. Answer: "We don’t do that; we follow medicare guidelines, & they don’t cover that either." You follow Medicare guidelines??? But you are profit-based; get paid a lot more money; and statistically are far advantaged — your patient population isn’t all aged and/or sick!" "Sorry!" That was the scorched-earth answer.
From there, we have had a very sordid descent. I have been told, & I agree, that I would be "Exhibit A" before Congress. For reasons that I won’t detail, it became necessary, after a certain drug-induced precipitant ("clinical trial") with horrific consequences, for my husband to leave our home & my (primary) care. Well, since I didn’t have the handy $500+ per year to sustain him, I was subjected to a "spend-down." For anyone who doesn’t know (which, I’ve discovered, includes most people, since a "spend-down" only includes a spouse, & no other relatives), and furthermore this varies from state to state (my state has been described as one of the "harshest"), I was effectively pauperizerd. This, after never asking for any gov’t. help (which I’ve learned I might have been entitled to, as a "caregiver during all the years of at-home care-giving). I’ve lead an honorable life, raised children who are all professionals (and tax payers!), and have dealt with suspicion, hostility, and many, many months of disrepect at government levels. Humanity? There was none. This story is incomplete, I admit. It doesn’t included bad lawyering, for instance. But it’s a start. And it provides a bit of an "infrastucture" to my continuing admiration and love for Senator Edward Kennedy>