"In his autumn years, Senator Edward M. Kennedy is a man of parts. Sometimes, especially in the mornings, he seems as weak and fluttery as a butterfly. Sometimes, especially in the evenings, he seems a Senator Bedfellow figure, an aging Irish boyo clutching a bottle and diddling a blonde. But he is also a man who can rise above that caricature to stature: the leading voice of what is left of the Left in American politics, a lawmaker of great and probably increasing power, the self-appointed tribune of the disenfranchised, the patriarch of America's most famous political family and the world's most conspicuous Democrat. He is in obvious ways tragic. His three brothers and one of his sisters died violently, two by public murder. His cruel marriage ended in divorce, with his wife a recovering alcoholic. He suffers still from a back broken in a near-fatal airplane crash. His elder son lost a leg and almost his life to cancer. The parts of his life collide with each other like bumper cars, the Teddy of the tabloids giving a boozy shove to the senior senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the sordid tragedies of his unprivate private life darkening the face of the public man."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Democratic Party (United States) politiciansAcademics from the United StatesMembers of the United States SenatePoliticians from BostonUnited States presidential candidates, 1980
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Michael Kelly in Ted Kennedy on the Rocks (1 February 1990)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
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 →
Related Quotes
"His partnerships with his fellow Senators are well-known and oft-recited, testimony to his skill and to his convictio…"
"Since Biden circa 2022 is often compared to 1970s Jimmy Carter due to a combination of sluggish job approval ratings,…"
"Senator Kennedy began his career setting a high standard when it comes to birthdays. It was when he reached the minim…"
"Run down the list--the rights of the disabled a most personal cause for Ted--who for far too long were left in the sh…"
"Ted Kennedy is the most prolific legislator in American history, but he is something more. Robert Kennedy once said t…"
"Without Ted, 18-year-olds might not be able to vote. There might not be a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Meals on Wh…"
"I think that John McCain and Ted Kennedy represent what the Senate has been at its best ... what it can be again, a p…"
"I think Senator Kennedy will go down as one of the giants in the Senate. While he has had a rather tumultuous life wi…"
"That sentence is not constructed lightly--it is the measure of a public servant who doesn't know the meaning of the w…"
"Ted Kennedy’s wit and stories, his passion for a cause and his country, and his love for the Senate just made you wan…"