MONROE - Sen. Edward Kennedy was in the news this week after he suffered a seizure at his home in Hyannis Port.
I've always admired Kennedy. Despite his failings and mistakes, he has been one of the most effective senators in United States history. That's not just a comment from a supporter. That's a comment from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has served on a number of committees with Kennedy.
The two men couldn't be more different. Kennedy is Catholic, liberal and a Democrat. Hatch is a conservative Republican.
Hatch has pointed out that if a new senator wants to get a bill through the Senate, they more often than not will go to Kennedy to ask for help. He knows how to get bills turned into law. Even former Vice President Dan Quayle sought out Kennedy's help when he proposed his first bill in the Senate.
I remember when I was a child my older brother would read "Meet John F. Kennedy" to me. It showed pictures of President Kennedy all through his life and there was one page that mentioned his sisters and his brothers, Joseph, Robert and Edward.
But that was all I knew about Ted Kennedy.
It wasn't until 1980 that I began to realize he was important.
I was 13 and for the first time I was keeping track of the presidential contest. That was the year Kennedy challenged President Jimmy Carter for the nomination.
All spring long, as I watched the news I would see him.
The first thing I noticed was that he didn't talk like anyone I knew.
He didn't say "Carter," he said "Cahta." "After" became "ahfta" and "park" became "pahk."
I watched the news the final weekend before the Democratic convention and hoped Carter and his supporters would let the delegates pick whomever they wanted rather than pick who they were pledged to support. But Carter wouldn't do that, for obvious reasons, and he was guaranteed the nomination.
I was mad at Carter at the time but, looking back on it, it was the best move he could have made.
The next week, I sat in front of the television and watched Kennedy address the convention. I was mesmerized by this man as he addressed the convention. He had them in the palm of his hand; he had them ready to do anything he wanted, except give him the nomination.
Normally, I would have been annoyed that a political convention interrupted an entire week's worth of TV shows. Back in those days we had three networks and the public broadcasting system to watch. Conventions and presidential press conferences pretty much ruined a week or a night of regular viewing.
The delegates cheered and applauded as Kennedy spoke. Many of them held "Kennedy" signs.
I remember how the convention hall went wild as he finished his speech.
"And someday, long after this convention, long after the signs come down and the crowds stop cheering and the bands stop playing, may it be said of our campaign that we kept the faith," he said.
"May it be said of our part in 1980 that we found our faith again.
"And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and now have special meaning for me:
I am a part of all that I have met
Tho much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive to seek to find and not to yield."
His campaign ended, he told the delegates.
"For those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die," he said as he concluded his speech.
I've always admired Kennedy. Despite his failings and mistakes, he has been one of the most effective senators in United States history. That's not just a comment from a supporter. That's a comment from Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who has served on a number of committees with Kennedy.
The two men couldn't be more different. Kennedy is Catholic, liberal and a Democrat. Hatch is a conservative Republican.
Hatch has pointed out that if a new senator wants to get a bill through the Senate, they more often than not will go to Kennedy to ask for help. He knows how to get bills turned into law. Even former Vice President Dan Quayle sought out Kennedy's help when he proposed his first bill in the Senate.
I remember when I was a child my older brother would read "Meet John F. Kennedy" to me. It showed pictures of President Kennedy all through his life and there was one page that mentioned his sisters and his brothers, Joseph, Robert and Edward.
But that was all I knew about Ted Kennedy.
It wasn't until 1980 that I began to realize he was important.
I was 13 and for the first time I was keeping track of the presidential contest. That was the year Kennedy challenged President Jimmy Carter for the nomination.
All spring long, as I watched the news I would see him.
The first thing I noticed was that he didn't talk like anyone I knew.
He didn't say "Carter," he said "Cahta." "After" became "ahfta" and "park" became "pahk."
I watched the news the final weekend before the Democratic convention and hoped Carter and his supporters would let the delegates pick whomever they wanted rather than pick who they were pledged to support. But Carter wouldn't do that, for obvious reasons, and he was guaranteed the nomination.
I was mad at Carter at the time but, looking back on it, it was the best move he could have made.
The next week, I sat in front of the television and watched Kennedy address the convention. I was mesmerized by this man as he addressed the convention. He had them in the palm of his hand; he had them ready to do anything he wanted, except give him the nomination.
Normally, I would have been annoyed that a political convention interrupted an entire week's worth of TV shows. Back in those days we had three networks and the public broadcasting system to watch. Conventions and presidential press conferences pretty much ruined a week or a night of regular viewing.
The delegates cheered and applauded as Kennedy spoke. Many of them held "Kennedy" signs.
I remember how the convention hall went wild as he finished his speech.
"And someday, long after this convention, long after the signs come down and the crowds stop cheering and the bands stop playing, may it be said of our campaign that we kept the faith," he said.
"May it be said of our part in 1980 that we found our faith again.
"And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and now have special meaning for me:
I am a part of all that I have met
Tho much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive to seek to find and not to yield."
His campaign ended, he told the delegates.
"For those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die," he said as he concluded his speech.
