Lion sleeps tonight...
There were fewer politicians over a longer period of time I have had less respect for than Edward Kennedy. I never grasped the fascination that the people of Massachusetts held for him. I never grasped the status he was given and the acclaim people felt he was due.
And while I respectfully express my condolences for the family members who will spend the next weeks mourning their loss, I can't help but ask the question, "What was the significance of his life?"
Hopefully his wife and children will tell us about a husband and father that defied the public image, but that public image--in my mind is bad... horrible even.
Many will refer to the "end of Camelot" as he is the final person named Kennedy to be serving in high federal office. But in reality Kennedy was an embarrassment to the most famous Kennedy, the same to his party, the same to his nation, and the same to his family.
His "youthful indiscretion" ended up with a woman dead at the bottom of a river, while he walked away, and everyone related to the case--with pockets lined--so as to keep their mouths shut.
Against better judgment he ran for President against a very weak incumbent and by necessity of his entry into the primary (and near victory), he made an already horrible Jimmy Carter appear even weaker, and thus Reagan cruised to victory.
He has consistently--in keeping with the tradition of his father--sided against America in many of the greatest conflicts she has faced. He like his fellow Massachusetts Senate colleague has consistently besmirched the motives, purpose, and operations of the American soldier.
And on public policy he could not have stood in more stark contrast to his brother John F. Kennedy.
It is indeed a sad day for the Kennedy clan. A beloved patriarch is gone. But for the nation, Kennedy's legacy is not even a mixed bag. It was an embarrassment, and I trust and hope that we are given a proper chance to recover from his impact in the days to come.