Kennedy's passing like a death in family

http://www.masslive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/08/kennedys_passing_like_a_death.html

For many Americans the passing of Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the U.S. Senate, represents the end of an era in U.S. politics - but here in Massachusetts it seems more like a death in the family. When the nation woke Wednesday morning to learn that Kennedy had lost his yearlong battle with brain cancer at the age of 77 at his home in Hyannis Port, the sense of loss was most palpable here in the Bay State where he was not only the standard-bearer of a political dynasty, but a familiar and beloved figure. During his 47 years office, Kennedy served the commonwealth with steadfastness in the face of triumph and tragedy. He looked out for our interests in the nation's capital and he had the skill and political clout to win support across the Senate aisle. He was our advocate, our friend and our neighbor.
He was no stranger to Springfield and Western Massachusetts where he was a frequent visitor to city and town halls, senior centers and colleges and universities. Every federally funded project in the Pioneer Valley - and there are hundreds - bear his imprint. And he connected with people. "He loved the common person," said West Springfield resident Donald J. Dowd, a close campaign aide of Kennedy's. When Kennedy entered the Senate in 1963, he was little more than a political freshman filling the seat vacated by his brother, President John F. Kennedy. His experiences were limited to a year as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County and working on his brother's presidential campaign.
But over the years he achieved a status that his senator brothers John and Robert F. Kennedy never attained. He became a master senator, learning the ins and outs of bill writing, committee meetings and compromise. His humor, compassion and graciousness earned him respect and love from Democrats and Republicans alike. "Of all the Kennedys," the late Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield once said, "the senator is the only one who was and is a real Senate man." But his schooling was hard, and the forces that made him the "Senate man" were his own weaknesses and indiscretions. Chief among them was the Chappaquiddick incident in July 1969 when he drove a car off a bridge into a tidal pool. Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign aide to Robert F. Kennedy, drowned in the accident that Kennedy did not report promptly. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received two months probation. Not long afterwards, Kennedy lost the Senate majority whip's post to West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, but the loss gave him the opportunity to concentrate on issues such as health care and civil rights that turned him into effective senator. When he challenged Jimmy Carter in 1980 for the Democratic presidential nomination, Chappaquiddick returned to haunt him as voters questioned whether Kennedy had the mental and moral toughness to be president. He lost to Carter badly and returned to the Senate to work on the issues important to him. "The pursuit of the presidency is not my life - public service is," he said. After his diagnosis, Kennedy returned to his Cape Cod home where he gathered strength for a last hurrah that included a triumphant speech at the Democratic convention, attendance at President Barack Obama's inauguration and a critical vote in support of the new president's financial overhaul plan. Kennedy called health care for all Americans "the cause of my life." As the debate on this issue heats up in Washington, the loss of his voice will be keenly felt. The nation will remember Kennedy - the last surviving brother of the Massachusetts-bred political dynasty - as a passionate champion for the downtrodden and the man who carried the family torch with a passion and intensity that his brothers would not live to realize. We will also remember him as our native son and brother. A statement issued by the Kennedy family sums up what many are feeling today: "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light of our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever . . . He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him." We can't imagine life in Massachusetts without him either.