"I'm reminded of a story that Teddy once told me about his experiences many years ago when Teddy Junior, now state Senator Ted Kennedy Junior, was sleeping after one of his cancer treatments. And Ted would wander the halls of the hospital and talk with other parents, keeping vigil over their own children. These parents lived in constant fear of what might happen if they couldn't afford the next treatment. Some calculating in their own minds what they might have to sell or borrow just to make it for a few more months, some bargaining with God for whatever they could get. And right there in the quiet of night, working people of modest means and one of the most powerful men in America shared the same intimate and immediate sense of helplessness. And Ted could, of course, afford his son's treatment. But it was that quiet dignified courage of others to endure the most frightening thing imaginable and to do what it takes on behalf of their loved ones that compelled Teddy to make those parents his cause, not out of self-interest but out of a selfless concern for those who suffer."
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Democratic Party (United States) politiciansAcademics from the United StatesMembers of the United States SenatePoliticians from BostonUnited States presidential candidates, 1980
Original Language: English
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Barack Obama in his acceptance speech on receiving the 2017 Profile in Courage Award (27 July 2018)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy
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Ted Kennedy
politician, lawyer, autobiographer
1932 – 2009 · United States
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (22 February 1932 – 25 August 2009) was the senior Democratic U.S. senator from Massachusetts. In office from November 1962 to August 2009, Kennedy was, at the time, the second-longest serving member of the Senate, after Robert Byrd of West Virginia. He was the younger brother of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, and the uncle of Caroline Kennedy.
389 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Ted Kennedy →
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