The Wit and Wisdom of Ted Kennedy

THE
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 through which his colleagues saw him. He was a product of an age when the joy and nobility of politics prevented differences of party and philosophy from becoming barriers to cooperation and mutual respect—a time when adversaries still saw each other as patriots.”

Senator Kennedy's life was deepened by tragedy and strengthened by a joyous love of humanity. And it was perhaps this sad and wonderful combination of influences that made him care more for ordinary Americans than most other politicians. After he lost his bid for the presidency he devoted his life to becoming a great Senator.

Through Ted Kennedy's wit and wisdom we can understand and appreciate this great man. And perhaps become better Americans ourselves.

THE
WIT AND WISDOM
OF
TED KENNEDY

WORDS OF INSPIRATION

T
HE
K
ENNEDY NAME HAS LONG BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH
soaring words and inspirational utterances. When we think of President John F. Kennedy, we can hear his ringing call to serve: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” When we think of Bobby Kennedy, we may remember him best by his bold vision for a better future: “Some men see things as they are, and say ‘Why?'—I dream of things that never were, and say, ‘Why not?'”

These two lives were cut tragically short, but even so, they left words that will continue to inspire Americans for generations to come. We are more fortunate when it comes to the life of their youngest brother, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who was granted 77 years to make a difference with his life. The third-longest serving senator in U.S. history has had 46 years to address us in speeches, statements, and other prepared remarks, as well as informal comments and recorded conversations. When in front of a large crowd he was often a rousing orator, a stemwinder, but not all the quotations in this chapter were delivered in a booming voice from a podium; there are some that come across equally well—perhaps better—when the reader is alone in a quiet room.

It was always a pleasure to search for and find these nuggets. We listened to many hours of videotapes of speeches, read through essays, and combed through public statements, and so often found ourselves stopping to appreciate some felicitous phrase, some lilting combination of words that reminded us that he was more than a moving speaker: He was truly a fine wordsmith. Of course, we know that Senator Kennedy also employed some supremely talented speechwriters, but in the end—as some of those speechwriters have noted in interviews about the experience of working with him—the choice of words was always his.

When it came to the music of the English language to move us to the heights, Senator Kennedy had perfect pitch.

The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.

—Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 1980

Let each of us, to the best of our ability, in our own day and generation, perform something worthy to be remembered. … Let us give something back to America, in return for all it has given us.

—Speech, March 1, 1976

I have seen throughout my life how we as a people can rise to a challenge, embrace change and renew our destiny.

—Speech at Harvard, December 2008

If I can leave a single message with the younger generation, it is to lash yourself to the mast, like Ulysses, if you want to escape the siren calls of complacency and indifference.

—Speech, June 4, 1978

Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again.

—Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 2008

The commitment I seek is not to outworn views but to old values that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures. Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue.