Senator Ted Kennedy was the end of a legacy and an era. He was the last surviving Kennedy brother and referred to the "Liberal Lion", a title that fit him well. He was a champion for education, health care, civil rights and pro-union. He took on the role as the family patriarch after the deaths of his brothers, Robert and Jack, a role that he stepped into without an ceremony.
Public service was second nature to the Kennedy family. Eunice Kennedy Shriver who founded the Special Olympics in 1962, she preceded him in death by two weeks. The only surviving child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy is Jean Kennedy Smith, 81. She has lead a private life in recent years.
His family was always shrouded in controversy and scandal and he had his share during his life on this earth. His strengths and accomplishments in the Senate have always stood to overshadow the scandals in his life. Senator Kennedy ran for President in 1976 and 1980. It seems that becoming President like his brother, Jack was not in the cards for him. The ghosts of Chappaquiddick and Mary Jo Kopechne came back to haunt him. Political opponents used the scandal for fodder in campaign mud-slinging tactics.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor back in May 2008 but he didn't let it stop him from campaigning for Barack Obama.. Like Kennedy, Obama had health care reform at the top of his agenda. The Senator made it a cause that he championed and fought for decades trying to reform this country's seriously flawed health care system.
In spite of his flaws, Senator Ted Kennedy accomplished much in his life and did so much for this country. He's leaving a legacy for the next generation of lawmakers to carry on.. I hope that President Obama will carry on the legacy to fight for health care reform. Many Americans are hoping that just because of Ted Kennedy's death, it will not mean the death of health care reform in this country.
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