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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Just Teddy Kennedy. You can feel the drip of derision with each word. But looked at in another way…
Just Teddy Kennedy had more effect upon the average American’s life than anyone else. At least 1000 pieces of legislation bear his imprint and 300 pieces were drafted by him. Just Teddy Kennedy is the one who championed the needs of the physically and mentally disabled when others would much rather count them as second class citizens or hide them away in some institution.
Just Teddy Kennedy cared enough about the average wage earner to push for and pass minimum wage standards so people would not be under-valued for their hard day’s work.
Just Teddy Kennedy took the cause of the uninsured and pushed for health care reform as far back as the 1960s and fought for it all of his legislative life until the very end, acknowledging that health care is not a privilege for the few, but a right for all.
Just Teddy Kennedy recognized the need for all children and especially poor children to have access to health care through the creation of SCHIP and the expansion of Medicaid coverage for children with special needs through the Family Opportunity Act of 2006.
Just Teddy Kennedy…the list goes on and on. In the end, Just Teddy Kennedy gave a real damn about average Americans and did his utmost to make their lives a little easier. Too bad we no longer have someone with the same drive, passion, and genuine care for humanity fighting for all of us. Just Teddy Kennedy…I’ll say.