The Wit and Wisdom of Ted Kennedy - Bill Adler [0]
WIT AND WISDOM
OF
TED KENNEDY
THE
WIT AND WISDOM
OF
TED KENNEDY
A Treasury of Reflections, Statements of Belief,
and Calls to Action
EDITED BY BILL ADLER & BILL ADLER, JR.
For my father (and co-editor), who created the
Wit and Wisdom book idea, and who showed me
how much fun the publishing world is.
—Bill Adler, Jr.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Words of Inspiration
On Defining Moments in Our History
On the Constitution and Equal Justice Under Law
On Leadership and Courage
On the Kennedy Family and Its Legacy
A Voice for Children
Issues of Global Impact: The Environment, War, National Security, and Public Safety
Democracy and Human Rights
Economic Justice and the American Worker
Health Care: Senator Kennedy’s Last Great Challenge
In Lighter Moments
Personal Reflections
Acknowledgments
INTRODUCTION
Individual faults and frailties are no excuse to give in—and no exemption from the common obligation to give of ourselves.
—Ted Kennedy
Senator Edward Kennedy was one of the most influential and important leaders of our generation, and will be remembered as one of the most significant politicians in the history of the United States.
Ted Kennedy was the son of Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, brother of Attorney General Robert Kennedy and brother of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy: It can be said that in his lifetime Ted Kennedy accomplished more than any of them to better America. Kennedy was elected to the United States Senate nine times and when he died he was the third longest serving Senator in United States history. When elected to the United States Senate in 1962, he was just 30 years old—the minimum age to serve.
Ted Kennedy was a champion of civil rights, health care, the war on AIDS, gun control, education, drug benefits for seniors, and myriad other issues that affect Americans every day. Kennedy stood his ground on these issues, unwavering in his convictions, despite the political vicissitudes of the years. Though known as a stalwart of the Democratic party, he was always able to work with his Republican colleagues as well as Republican presidents to achieve his dreams. Paying fond tribute to him at his funeral mass were two of his oldest friends in the Senate, Republicans John McCain and Orrin Hatch.
In 1964, I (Bill Adler, Sr.) edited The Kennedy Wit, a tribute to President John F. Kennedy published soon after his assassination. That book was an international bestseller because the slain president occupied a special and unique place in the hearts of Americans. Robert Kennedy’s death followed less than five years later. Ted Kennedy became the Kennedy brother to whom we looked for hope and inspiration. Over his long time of service in the Senate, he developed into a leader of vision and unwavering perseverance. He, like his brothers John and Robert, looked ahead and all saw how we could make America a better place.
When I compiled The Kennedy Wit I was 32 years old. I’m 80 now. A lot has changed over the decades, and much of the change that has bettered our nation can be attributed to the hard work and vision of Ted Kennedy. I’m grateful for that.
President Barack Obama said this of Ted Kennedy at his memorial service on August 29, 2009:
“Today we say goodbye to the youngest child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy. The world will long remember their son Edward as the heir to a weighty legacy; a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the U.S. Senate—a man whose name graces nearly one thousand laws, and who penned more than three hundred himself.
“We can still hear his voice bellowing through the Senate chamber, face reddened, fist pounding the podium, a veritable force of nature, in support of health care or workers’ rights or civil rights. And yet, while his causes became deeply personal, his disagreements never did. While he was seen by his fiercest critics as a partisan lightning rod, that is not the prism through which Ted Kennedy saw the world, nor was it the prism