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PreObit Edward Moore Kennedy
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[XXXXX NEWS LINK GOES HERE XXXXX United States Senator] Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, 1932-XXXXX YEAR XXXXX. [mi]
A member of the tragic, iconic Kennedy family, Ted was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the second-longest serving member of the Senate, having assumed office in 1962. One of the most recognizable American lawmakers in the US and abroad, Kennedy was widely considered an icon of the Democratic Party. In 2006, Time characterized Kennedy's political legacy and clout as follows:
[E]specially in the quarter-century since his failed 1980 campaign for President, Kennedy, 74, has amassed a titanic record of legislation affecting the lives of virtually every man, woman and child in the country [...] By the late '90s, the liberal icon had become such a prodigious cross-aisle dealer that Republican leaders began pressuring party colleagues not to sponsor bills with him.
In late January of 2008, he endorsed (yt) Barack Obama's presidential campaign. On May 17 of that year, Kennedy was admitted to hospital in Boston after suffering two seizures. Upon examination a malignant brain tumour was discovered. He recovered well enough to attend at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August. During a celebratory luncheon on the day of President Obama's inauguration, he again suffered a seizure, but doctors attributed this episode to what they described as "simple fatigue".
In March of 2009 Prime Minister Brown of the United Kingdom announced before the US Congress that Kennedy was to receive an honorary knighthood for his services to the US-UK relationship and his work in the Northern Ireland peace process.
Kennedy is survived by Victoria Reggie Kennedy, his second wife; Kara, Edward, and Patrick, children from his previous marriage to Virginia Joan Bennett; Curran and Caroline, Victoria's children from a previous marriage; John's daughter Caroline and Robert's nine living children, to all of whom Ted became surrogate father after both brothers were assassinated; and five grandchildren.
Selected speeches:
Ted Kennedy eulogizes his brother Robert: St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, 1968 (text, audio) Senator Kennedy addresses the 1980 Democratic National Convention (text, audio)
"Faith, Truth and Tolerance in America": Liberty Baptist College, Lynchburg, VA, 1983 (text, audio, video)
Senator Kennedy addresses the 2004 Democratic National Convention (youtube)
Kennedy speaks to the National Press Club on the eve of President Bush's announcement of a major Iraq War troop increase now known as "the surge", January 2007 (youtube,
text, NYT article)
Senator Kennedy addresses the 2008 Democratic National Convention (youtube) New York Times commentaries: On the UN On the NRA On a disagreeable family biography
Suggested tags: tedkennedy kennedy edwardkennedy edwardmkennedy obit obituary senate senator unitedstates us usa politics
