Ted Kennedy

TED KENNEDY was one of the few politicians in Washington who truly put his personal beliefs and views above politics. His compassion and never-ending campaign for equal rights for all Americans, big or small, no matter the color of their skin, rich or poor, will be sorely missed. Kennedy was our last best chance for real health-care reform, reform that would work for everyone, as he had respect from both sides of the aisle that no other senator has ever had or ever will have again.

Ted Kennedy Jr. wasn't too excited about the idea of yet another TV movie about the Kennedys - specifically himself. But a film about a 12-year-old boy who, with the help of family, friends and religious faith, overcomes the loss of a leg to cancer - that he could get into. Not only did Kennedy work with the writers of "The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story," an NBC film scheduled for broadcast Nov. 24, but he also wrote and delivered the epilog. He may also be the first Kennedy ever to participate in the promotion of a film biography.

In the South, candidates are running hard against the senator. When they say his name, their voices drip with disgust. Big liberal spender, they sneer. King of racial quotas. Never mind that Ted Kennedy, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, isn't up for election. Listen to Gov. Bob Martinez in Florida. In his razor-close race for re- election, Martinez declares that Lawton Chiles is a liberal like Ted Kennedy. This has a familiar ring to it. Listen to Jesse Helms in North Carolina.

Yuck, another one of those flaps about some self-identified journalist who has Gone Too Far. This time it's Joe McGinniss, whose novel masquerades as a "biography" of Edward Kennedy. And this time, the "biographer" is so far Over The Line (stop me before I capitalize again) that the only question left is whether we have some obligation to admire his chutzpah in describing this pastiche as non-fiction. I am obliged to explain that I got one of those advance galleys of the first three chapters of the McGinniss book that were circulated by his publisher, but I refuse on principle to buy the whole book.

SINCE it began last year, the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) has stopped 330 known foreign criminals and three known terrorists attempting to come into the country at official ports of entry. And the targeted registration of certain foreign nationals already here has resulted in the apprehension of 15 illegal alien felons. Naturally, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Afghanistan, wants to stop the Bush administration from using NSEERS to catch any more criminal and illegal aliens who pose threats to America.

He was born into the family business, politics, but for many years now, the family narrative has been terrible, gut-wrenching tragedy. And Ted Kennedy has taken on roles he could never have aspired to or imagined for himself. Graceful mourner. Surrogate father. Composer of eulogies. Chaperone of bodies. Yesterday, Kennedy walked stiff-legged but briskly onto a Coast Guard vessel to be taken out to sea for the grimmest of tasks, to stand by as the bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of his slain brother; John's wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister Lauren Bessette were pulled from the deep.

When Jonathan Yardley, the Washington Post's book critic, calls Joe McGinniss' new biography of Ted Kennedy the worst thing he's read in "nearly three decades," he's saying something. Yardley, like all reviewers, has read books so bad, so trashy, so without literary or journalistic merit, that to single out one as the worst means that it has a quality that sets it apart. In the case of the McGinness book, it's dishonesty. The Last Brother is really in a league of its own. It not only purports to know what Ted Kennedy was thinking at this or that moment, but it also has the speechless Joseph P. Kennedy, a stroke victim, impart his earnest desire to attend the Washington funeral of his son, the slain president: "He'd seen enough of Jack's casket on television, enough of Bobby's and Jacqueline's somber but resolute expressions.

Let me begin by making a confession that will set me apart from many of those who have commented on Joe McGinniss' latest work: I have actually read the book. I have read it and found it to be a finely written and insightful investigation, not only of Ted Kennedy, but of the way America creates and discards its heroes, of the way American politics works and of the role the media plays in those workings. Let me make a second confession: I am a friend of McGinniss'. As has been the case with a long list of other writers, I have benefited from his kindness and generosity in the form of jacket quotes, reading time, advice and recommendations.

I WAS AMUSED to see the ariticle in the Kerry . . . oops, I mean Daily News about Ted Kennedy being stopped at airports as a possible terrorist. In all fairness, he has killed someone, and his boy, John F. Simoes Ferierra Heinz Kennedy Kerry, has been endorsed by both North Korea AND al Qaeda, so it doesn't seem so out of line after all. Michael P. Kilhoffer Philadelphia

Guess who's coming to Haddonfield? Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D, Mass.) will be in the borough at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The senator will visit his friend Andrew Weber, press the flesh of local Democratic leaders - and pick up a few checks from supporters to fatten his campaign war chest. Weber, who heads the Voorhees office of the Philadelphia law firm of Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul, is former chief counsel to former Gov. Jim Florio, as well as a former Gloucester County counsel and a prominent Democratic Party fund-raiser.

The recent death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was certainly a blow to his cherished goal of health-care reform. But it also could mean an end to the art of compromise in Congress. For all of the vitriol that the right heaped on Kennedy's liberalism, he excelled at reaching common ground with conservatives to pass legislation. There are few elected officials remaining in either party in Washington with a reputation as a deal-maker. Today is the 45th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, landmark legislation that has enabled the federal government to set aside more than 100 million acres as protected public land.

By William C. Kashatus Last weekend, while Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was being laid to rest, I visited the grave of Mary Jo Kopechne, the 28-year-old woman who was killed when a car driven by Kennedy plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island. I visited Kopechne's grave to honor her memory and the potential that was lost on that summer evening 40 years ago. Kopechne is buried at St. Vincent's Cemetery, on Larksville Mountain in Luzerne County, Pa., just a few miles from her hometown, Forty Fort.

With the passing of Ted Kennedy, Americans have taken a moment to reflect on his career and legacy. Having worked for elected officials ranging from the late Sen. John Heinz to Rep. Jim Gerlach, I have had a lifetime of experience in government. And my fellow Republicans may be surprised to learn that the first time I worked my home precinct as a volunteer was for Kennedy's 1980 presidential candidacy. But I will leave the political commentary to historians and Kennedy's colleagues.

Ted Kennedy's voice and leadership will be sorely missed in the effort to pass health-care reform. But when Republicans say Democrats don't have anyone to take his place in achieving a bipartisan compromise, they are either missing - or deliberately obscuring - the relevant lesson of Kennedy's example. The truth is that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.), with the support of the White House, has worked hard for months to reach consensus with Sens. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa)

"This initial victory for Edward Kennedy is demeaning to the dignity of the Senate and the democratic process. " - New York Times editorial, "Little Brother Wins," Sept. 19, 1962 AT THE TENDER age of 30, the youngest sibling of President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy seemed pathetically unqualified to enter the U.S. Senate. He was the runt of the litter. Suspended from Harvard after he'd been caught having a football teammate take a Spanish exam for him, Ted had subsequently been steered by his father away from service in the Korean War, serving instead as a NATO honor guard in Paris, never advancing beyond private first class.

Ted Kennedy was treasured by liberals, loved by many of his conservative colleagues, revered by African Americans and Latinos, respected by hard-bitten political bosses, admired by students of the legislative process, and cherished by the finest cadre of staff members ever assembled on Capitol Hill. The Kennedy paradox is that he managed to be esteemed by almost everyone without ever becoming all things to all people. He stood for large purposes, unequivocally and unapologetically, and never ducked tough choices.

TED KENNEDY was one of the few politicians in Washington who truly put his personal beliefs and views above politics. His compassion and never-ending campaign for equal rights for all Americans, big or small, no matter the color of their skin, rich or poor, will be sorely missed. Kennedy was our last best chance for real health-care reform, reform that would work for everyone, as he had respect from both sides of the aisle that no other senator has ever had or ever will have again.

TEDDY KENNEDY was a prodigious fundraiser, especially for the conservatives who hated him with a consuming passion. He was the full-color villain of thousands of their direct-mail brochures. Kennedy's image, his life's work - and, it must be said, his very real personal flaws - provided excellent incentives for his enemies to contribute to the people who did battle with him. No doubt some of that money came from people whose lives had benefited from the dedication and skill of Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts.

The passing of Sen. Edward Moore "Teddy" Kennedy has silenced the greatest liberal voice of the past 50 years and drawn the curtain on an epic generation of a political dynasty. Kennedy, 77, who died Tuesday night from brain cancer, was the third-longest-serving senator in the nation's history. Although his liberalism was legendary, this Democrat's true effectiveness was in his ability to compromise with Republicans to get his initiatives enacted into law. He never quite matched the public's adoration for his older brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, whose lives were cut short by assassins' bullets.

PHILLY POLITICIANS knew that they could count on Teddy. Whatever the campaign, cause or battle, Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy was always available to lend a hand, local leaders recalled yesterday in the wake of the death of the 77-year-old political legend. "His love for the city was tremendous," said U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah. "He credited Philadelphia with his brother's win for the presidency. When he ran for president, he won Philadelphia. " During his lengthy public career - championing social issues for more than four decades in the Senate, campaigning for Democratic candidates and carrying the family torch for his slain brothers - Kennedy influenced many Philadelphia political leaders.