How do you feel about the death of Ted Kennedy?

I was never a big fan of his, but I do feel bad.

A great man. He deserves all the honors and awards he got, like the honorary knighthood given to him by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

I think its sad that the family had to suffer two losses in such a short time period. Eunice Kennedy Shriver just died on the 11th.

Well, if it weren’t for his reprehensible behavior at Chappaquiddick, he might have been President in 1980. But it’s good he wasn’t president. He was much more effective as a senator.

I personally never knew the guy, but from what I heard he was a good man. I never wish anything bad on anyone, especially death, not even on those who would want to hurt me. May God grant him eternal peace.

There was an advertisment with the slogan “if Ted Kennedy drove a Volkswagen, he’d be President today.” lol

I’m sad. It was imminent, but still shocking to see the headline. He really was a champion for the underdogs of society. He could have sat back on his laurels and just sailed his life away. He had a big heart and great work ethic.

I know nothing of the man except for his name and the fact that he exists (er.. existed).
I’ll survive.

I hope he gets at least much media coverage as Michael Jackson did.

It seems like it marks the end of an era for the Kennedys.

It sucks he died

Does it really matter ?
It should only really matter if you knew the guy or his family .

I can’t say that I really care.

@sandystrachan: It also matters for his constituents, who just lost one of the senior and most well-respected members of the Senate, and for people who care about health care reform in the United States, because he was one of its principal advocates.

@sandystrachan – A legislator is a bit more important to a nation and its people than a celebrity. Please don’t conflate the two.

He was one of the few senators who was capable of negotiating with the opposition to get important bills passed in the Senate. The Democrats really could have used him now, but he’s been terminally ill throughout this whole health care debacle. And it’s going to be at least 6 months before his state, Massachusetts, can elect someone to fill his seat.

It happened way way too late.

Ambivalent. Here’s why. Snipped from a 2005 WSJ article written by Peggy Noonan.

A few weeks ago I was reading Christopher Lawford’s lovely, candid and affectionate remembrance of growing up in a particular time and place with a particular family, the Kennedys, circa roughly 1950–2000. It’s called “Symptoms of Withdrawal.” At the end he quotes his Uncle Teddy. Christopher, Ted Kennedy and a few family members had gathered one night and were having a drink in Mr. Lawford’s mother’s apartment in Manhattan. Teddy was expansive. If he hadn’t gone into politics he would have been an opera singer, he told them, and visited small Italian villages and had pasta every day for lunch. “Singing at la Scala in front of three thousand people throwing flowers at you. Then going out for dinner and having more pasta.” Everyone was laughing. Then, writes Mr. Lawford, Teddy “took a long, slow gulp of his vodka and tonic, thought for a moment, and changed tack. ‘I’m glad I’m not going to be around when you guys are my age.’ I asked him why, and he said, ‘Because when you guys are my age, the whole thing is going to fall apart.’ ”

Mr. Lawford continued, “The statement hung there, suspended in the realm of ‘maybe we shouldn’t go there.’ Nobody wanted to touch it. After a few moments of heavy silence, my uncle moved on.”

Lawford thought his uncle might be referring to their family—that it might “fall apart.” But reading, one gets the strong impression Teddy Kennedy was not talking about his family but about . . . the whole ball of wax, the impossible nature of everything, the realities so daunting it seems the very system is off the tracks.

I have lived to witness almost the totality of the Kennedy political influence. Ted Kennedy was a human, like the rest of us, and made some very human mistakes. The unfortunate incident at Chappaquiddick that took the life of Mary Jo Kopechne did prevent him from attaining the presidency, but it also freed him to be a full-time senator. He used his growing political stature and power, along with his powerful name, to advance causes he truly felt were for the good of the country, especially the poor, the working class, and his lifework, attainable, affordable health care for all.

As a senior senator (there are only two other senators who served longer), he was able to perfect the art of compromise, in order to get things done. By forging relationships with those on the other side of the political aisle, he was able to work with them to pass legislation.

Sure, he came from privilege, and he acquired power, but I have heard a lot of personal anecdotes that show his sensitivity to things like human rights, civil rights, individual needs, the list goes on.

When he was diagnosed with brain cancer, I knew he would not live much longer. Still, I am saddened.

@Yetanotheruser Thank you , that is a very thoughtful response.