August 25, 2008

Ted Kennedy

A nice catch from Kagro X over at Kos:

When was the last time a Democratic convention keynote* speaker was played off the stage by a song written by a current Democratic Member of Congress?

Sen. Ted Kennedy leaves the stage to Rep. John Hall's "Still the One."

Here's his speech:

It was vintage Ted Kennedy, brain cancer or not. He closed:

Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again.

There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination -- not merely victory for our party, but renewal for our nation.

And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on.

* Kennedy wasn't the keynote speaker; Michelle Obama was. A small mistake.

Posted by Linkmeister at August 25, 2008 07:55 PM | TrackBack
Comments

It is hard for me to make sense of Ted Kennedy.

How can we get past Chappaquiddick, the facts of which are far more discreditable to Kennedy than most people realize. He left Mary Jo Kopechne to die under circumstances where, if he had not given priority to preserving his political career, she might well have been saved.

Is it possible to put these events aside and view Kennedy with respect? Actually, I think it may be. Kennedy is an old-fashioned Irish pol whose real strength is constituent service, and of crossing the aisle to get compromise done on important legislation.

Can that kind of service constitute redemption? That's not for us to judge, but I do think Kennedy deserves respect as a knowledgeable and effective legislator. Whether he should be viewed as a moral arbiter, instructing the rest of us in how to hope and dream, is something else.

Posted by: pixelshim at August 26, 2008 01:51 AM