Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Obama on Kennedy: 'One of the Most Accomplished Americans Ever to Serve Our Democracy'

At the White House blog, "One of the Most Accomplished Americans Ever to Serve our Democracy":

The Kennedy name is synonymous with the Democratic Party. And at times, Ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks. But in the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. His seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth, and good cheer. He could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the Senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines.

And that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy.

His extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end. And the extraordinary good that he did lives on. For his family, he was a guardian. For America, he was the defender of a dream.
I don't doubt that Senator Kennedy deserves such deep feelings in commemoration. What's interesting to me is how the death of Kennedy, whose influence in American politics has long been overrated, is now going to drive a sympathy-push for the passage of healthcare legislation Americans have already repudiated.

See WSJ, "
Kennedy’s Death Spurs Calls to Pass Health Legislation" (via Memeorandum).

Also, Ed Morrissey, "
Videos: Chris Matthews, Not Politicizing Kennedy’s Death."

4 comments:

  1. No person, living or dead, has done, or did more, to push this nation to the very edge of its financial and economic destruction than did Edward M. Kennedy.

    -Dave

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  2. Really...please...

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  3. His brother served America while Ted rode his coattails. While I am not happy about his death, he was not a great American.

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  4. I couldn't listen to the memorials on this guy. He was a disgusting human being and this hero-worship that he inspires boggles my mind. The next generation of Kennedys is pretty screwed up, but hopefully they will never be as screwed up as Teddy was.

    Well - he's gone to meet his maker and whatever happened is between him and the creator now.

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