NEW : Kennedy leaves mixed legacy

Ted Kennedy was one of the longest-serving members of the Senate, an influential political leader who presidents courted for advice. The youngest son of America’s most famous family, he also was a man plagued by scandal for decades.

The duel nature of who Kennedy was reflects his mixed legacy, local political analysts said.

His early life was marked by tragedy. By the time he was 16, three of his siblings had died; two in plane crashes. As a youn senator, he saw his brothers - President John Kennedy and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy killed by assassins.

“Ted Kennedy did more with education and health care than his brothers (John and Robert) did,” said Martin Shaffer, dean of liberal arts and assistant professor of political science at Marist College in Poughkeepsie. “His brothers never got to realize their full potential. No one knows how far they could have gone.”

Kennedy was a driving force behind hundreds of pieced of legislation involving health care, civil rights, education and benefits for the poor.

“For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well-being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts,” said President Barack Obama. “An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States senator of our time.”

Kennedy helped with his brother John's successful presidential campaign and took over his Massachusetts Senate seat in 1962. He was only 30 years old.

“Ted's political persona was liberal, but he embraced the traditions of the Senate,” said Shaffer. “He compromised with the Republicans and met them half-way.”

Kennedy was considered to be more affable than his brothers. He concentrated on local issues and avoided publicity when possible.

“He's been called the 'Liberal Lion,'” said Born. “But he has a lot of conservative friends across the aisle.”

Kennedy found the Senate to be satisfying and made his mark in hundreds of bills.
In 1964, Kennedy survived a plane crash. While recovering in the hospital, he took an interest in health care provisions.

“He was a legislative giant, in a different league than his brothers were,” said Richard Born, a political science professor at Vassar College “It not just because of the Kennedy name; it's where he stands out.”

In the last year, Kennedy began renewing his efforts for a universal healthcare plan. His own hospital stay wasn't the only reason for his interest. Two of his three children from first wife Virginia Joan Bennett suffered from medical conditions; his oldest son was an amputee.

In May of 2008, doctors announced that Kennedy had a cancerous brain tumor, malignant glioma. The news devastated Republicans and Democrats alike.

Although his illness eventually made it impossible for him to participate in health plan deliberations, he continued to champion his cause. Despite his checkered past, his influence remained great until the day he died.

“He'll go down in history as one of our greatest senators, especially if a good health care plan is put into effect,” said Born.

However, his personal life, especially in his younger years, was marred by scandals.
After a rocky time at Harvard University which included being briefly expelled for cheating and a stint in the U.S. Army, Kennedy opted out of a possible professional football career to enter what he called “another contact sport: politics.

“It wasn't an auspicious beginning,” said Born. “He had a history, and it wasn't all good.”

His most infamous scandal, aptly called the Chappaquiddick Incident, would be the one that would repeatedly come back to haunt him.

In 1969, Ted left the scene of an automobile accident after crashing into a river off of Chappaquiddick Island. He escaped the car and swam to safety but his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, died. He didn't contact authorities, but was cleared of all charges related to her death.

“In the 1960s, it was assumed that the three of them- John, then Bobby, then Ted- would eventually get elected president,” said Born.

It wasn't to be.

Kennedy turned down several requests to run for president, citing duties to his family as the reason.

“Ted wanted to support his brothers' children,” said Shaffer.

In 1980, Kennedy finally agreed to run for president, but lost to fellow Democrat Jimmy Carter.

“He (Kennedy) thought that the Chappaquiddick incident was behind him because it was over a decade old,” said Born. “But the damage was done and it was a permanent black mark on his record.”

Kennedy and wife Joan divorced in 1981 and his personal life dominated his public image. Rumors of heavy drinking and womanizing followed him but he remained a powerful force in the Senate.

Kennedy's nephew, William Kennedy Smith, was tried on rape charges in 1991. Smith was later acquited, but the Kennedy name had once again been dragged through the mud, and because of surrounding scandal Newsweek declared Ted the “living symbol of the familys' flaws.

“There's no question that his personal life had flaws,” said Born. “That's part of his legacy, too.”

But after meeting second wife Victoria Anne Reggie at a dinner party, Ted began to turn his life around. The two married in 1992.

In the 1990s, a time of the Republican Party's dominance within the Senate, Kennedy was a strong representative of the Liberal left. Always, he called health care the “cause of his life.”

Despite his checkered past, Kennedy was now a man that was trusted and confided in.
“Kennedy had great political influence,” said Shaffer. “He endorsed Barack Obama, who he thought had a good plan for universal health care. It made a difference to him (Obama) that the Kennedy name was behind them.”

source : http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20090826/NEWS01/90826011/1006/news01/Kennedy-leaves-mixed-legacy