Posted by
Kevin L. Kitchens on Monday, August 31, 2009 3:06:46 PM
Teddy Kennedy would have a been a joke or punchline in his own right, but John F. Kennedy war (gasp) hero and somewhat decent guy for a democrat was beloved by this country. To a (very slightly) lesser degree, so was Robert Kennedy.
But Teddy was nothing without the deaths of his brothers.
He was reelected over and over because of his family name and the memory of his poor brothers, cut short from this country by assassins. He was ineffective, a womanizer, a drunk.
Normally, he would have been a Roger Clinton or Billy Carter -- relegated to the sidelines of American history.
But he had the untimely deaths of three brothers (and a date) to pave his way to liberal stardom.
He rode the coattails of his brothers into the political spotlight.
The ride is complete, as he has now has gone as far as they have gone. Into the grave.
May Camelot fade into memory.