Ted Kennedy: his death, he should have driven a VW Bug

Here is my past entry about Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick scandal.

I agree with the analysts, that Sen. Kennedy became a very effective, moderate voice in the US Senate after his marriage to Vickie Reggie. I think she saw the potential in him. I think the assassination of his brother Robert was what pushed him over the edge. His loneliness, the drinking, the infidelities, became his own perfect storm.

His behavior after Bobby's death, up to and including his run for the Presidency in 1980, are his worst years. Described as the last true liberal in the US Senate, he forgot his brother John F. Kennedy was no liberal, but a moderate. His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, was no liberal, broke with FDR over many things, including the socialist policies of the new deal,and of course, the alliance with Britain before US entry into WWII - Joe didn't like the english (he was irish) and thought we should tilt toward Germany. Which is why FDR essentially fired him from being ambassador to britain.

I think many people like Ted because of his brothers - the real Ted Kennedy didnt emerge until after his marriage with Vickie. He finished his life well. Perhaps that made up for the failings earlier in his life, as a husband, father, and US Senator.

So god bless him, he did the best he could given the family he was born into, and many people have benefited from his work in the US Senate.