Senator Kennedy has passed away. There will be the digital equivalent of buckets of inks spilled on this subject by people who know far more about him than me. My earliest memory of him had to do with a Chappaquiddick bumper sticker my parents had put up on the refrigerator. (I told you I grew up Republican). After that, as I began to learn more history, I was struck by the prominence of his family and how awful it would be to lose so many family members to tragedy.
Rosemary – Suffered a failed lobotomy when Edward was 9.
Joe Jr. – killed in the war when Edward was 12.
Kathleen – Died in a plane crash when Edward was 16.
John – Assassinated when Edward was 31.
Robert – Assassinated when Edward was 36.
Edward would eventually come out of the shadow of his siblings — to a large degree, anyway since it would be hard to come entirely out of the shadows of John and Bobby. He was an effective Senator, known as the liberal lion. Health care has been described as his hallmark issue, and he has died on the eve of the best chance of health care overhaul in several generations. If it fails for the lack of one vote in the Senate, that would cap off the litany of epic tragedies for Joe Sr.’s kids.
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