Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009

» NYT: Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate, died late Tuesday night. He was 77 .

The death of Mr. Kennedy, who had been battling brain cancer, was announced Wednesday morning in a statement by the Kennedy family, which was already mourning the death of the Senator's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver two weeks earlier.

"Edward M. Kennedy - the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply - died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port," the statement said. "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever."

My first memory of political involvement was spending time after school with mom at Kennedy campaign headquarters in Ft. Worth. On occasion, mom would dispose of me & sis by handing us some fliers and sending us to affix them to any and every parked car around the office. It did teach me the value of a hands-on approach to politics that I still favor today. But given my evolution of political philosophy since then, I'd semi-jokingly refer to this as a form of child abuse in more recent years.

All that to point out that much of my own recollection of Ted Kennedy seems to be from an era that lacks some of the sentimentality that frequently gets attached to the Senator. I'd place his speech at the 1980 DNC Convention as effectively the last such sentimental moment in Ted's life. The Ted I grew up watching and reading about was more along the lines of "Legislator Ted." A leader in the Senate, no less ... a critical voice on health care and education policy ... but not the mythological figure of some "American Royalty" that I've never been inclined to believe in.

As a Senator, Kennedy's life and record seems rich enough to appreciate for what it was in this light: Politically principled, but not impractical enough to work in a bipartisan manner. A life in politics where friendships and comity were not outside the scope of making the world a better place. And one where politics was not the sole definition of one's life. There's certainly plenty worth remembering fondly from the example he set in these regards. And that's the Ted Kennedy I'll remember.