Edward Moore Kennedy was born at St. Margaret's Hospital in theDorchester section ofBoston, Massachusetts on February 22, 1932. He was the youngest of the nine children ofJoseph Patrick Kennedy andRose Fitzgerald, members of prominentIrish-American families in Boston.[1] They constituted one of the wealthiest families in the nation after their marriage.[2] His eight siblings wereJoseph Jr.,John,Rose,Kathleen,Eunice,Patricia,Robert, andJean. His older brother John asked to be the newborn's godfather, a request his parents honored, though they did not agree to his request to name the baby George Washington Kennedy (Kennedy was born on PresidentGeorge Washington's 200th birthday). They named the boy after their father's assistant and longtime friend.[3][4]
Between the ages of eight and sixteen, Kennedy suffered the traumas of his sister Rosemary's failedlobotomy and the deaths of two siblings: Joseph Jr. in an airplane explosion and Kathleen in an airplane crash.[1] Kennedy's affable maternal grandfather,John F. Fitzgerald, was theMayor of Boston, a U.S. Congressman, and an early political and personal influence.[1] Kennedy spent his four high-school years atMilton Academy, a preparatory school inMilton, Massachusetts, where he received B and C grades. In 1950, he finished 36th in a graduating class of 56.[10] He did well atfootball there, playing on the varsity in his last two years; the school's headmaster later described his play as "absolutely fearless ... he would have tackled an express train to New York if you asked ... he loved contact sports".[10] Kennedy also played on the tennis team and was in the drama, debate, and glee clubs.[10]
College, military service, and law school
Like his father and brothers before him, Ted graduated fromHarvard College.[11] In his spring semester, he was assigned to the athlete-orientedWinthrop House, where his brothers had also lived.[11] He was anoffensive and defensive end on the freshman football team; his play was characterized by his large size and fearless style.[1] In his first semester, Kennedy and his classmates arranged to copy answers from another student during the final examination for a science class.[12] At the end of his second semester in May 1951, Kennedy was anxious about maintaining his eligibility for athletics for the next year,[1] and he had a classmate take his place at aSpanish exam.[13][14] The ruse was discovered and both were expelled for cheating.[13][15] As was standard for serious disciplinary cases, they were told they could apply for readmission within a year or two if they demonstrated good behavior during that time.[13][16]
Kennedy re-entered Harvard in the summer of 1953 and improved his study habits.[1] His brother John was a U.S. Senator and the family was attracting more public attention.[19] Kennedy joinedThe Owlfinal club in 1954[20] and was also chosen for theHasty Pudding Club and the Pi Eta fraternity.[21] Kennedy was on athletic probation during his sophomore year, and he returned as a second-string two-way end for theCrimson football team during his junior year. He barely missed earning hisvarsity letter.[22]Green Bay Packers head coachLisle Blackbourn asked him about his interest in playing professional football.[23] Kennedy demurred, saying he had plans to attend law school and "go into another contact sport, politics."[24] In his senior season of 1955, Kennedy started at end for the Harvard football team and worked hard to improve his blocking and tackling to complement his 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 200 lb (91 kg) size.[18] In the season-endingHarvard–Yale game in the snow at theYale Bowl on November 19 (which Yale won 21–7), Kennedy caught a pass to score Harvard's only touchdown;[25] the team finished the season with a 3–4–1 record.[26] Academically, Kennedy received mediocre grades for his first three years, improved to a B average for his senior year, and finished barely in the top half of his class.[27] Kennedy graduated from Harvard at age 24 in 1956 with anAB in history and government.[27]
Due to his low grades, Kennedy was not accepted byHarvard Law School.[16] He instead followed his brother Robert and enrolled in theUniversity of Virginia School of Law in 1956.[1] That acceptance was controversial among faculty and alumni, who judged Kennedy's past cheating episodes to be incompatible with the University of Virginia's honor code; it took a full faculty vote to admit him.[28] Kennedy also attendedThe Hague Academy of International Law during one summer.[29] At Virginia, Kennedy felt that he had to study "four times as hard and four times as long" as other students to keep up.[30] He received mostly C grades[30] and was in the middle of the class ranking, but won the prestigious William Minor Lile Moot Court Competition.[1][31] He was elected head of the Student Legal Forum and brought many prominent speakers to the campus via his family connections.[32] While there, his questionable automotive practices were curtailed when he was charged withreckless driving anddriving without a license.[1] He was officially named as manager of his brother John's1958 Senate re-election campaign; Ted's ability to connect with ordinary voters on the street helped bring a record-setting victory margin that gave credibility to John's presidential aspirations.[33] Kennedy graduated from law school in 1959.[32]
Family and early career
Ted Kennedy ridingsaddle-bronc at the Eastern Montana Fairrodeo inMiles City, Montana on August 27, 1960, while campaigning for his brother John.
In October 1957 (early in his second year of law school), Kennedy metJoan Bennett atManhattanville College; they were introduced after a dedication speech for a gymnasium that his family had donated at the campus.[34][35] Bennett was a senior at Manhattanville and had worked as a model and won beauty contests, but she was unfamiliar with politics.[34] After the couple became engaged, she grew nervous about marrying someone she did not know that well, but Joe Kennedy insisted that the wedding should proceed.[34] The couple was married byCardinalFrancis Spellman on November 29, 1958, atSt. Joseph's Church inBronxville, New York,[1][18] with the reception being held at the nearbySiwanoy Country Club.[36] Ted and Joan had three children:Kara (1960–2011),Edward Jr. (b. 1961) andPatrick (b. 1967). By the 1970s, the marriage was in trouble due to Ted'sinfidelity and Joan's growingalcoholism.[37]
In 1959, Kennedy was admitted to theMassachusetts Bar.[42] In 1960, Ted's brother John announced his candidacy forPresident of the United States and Ted managed his campaign in the Western states.[1] Kennedy learned to fly and during theDemocratic primary campaign he barnstormed around the western states, meeting with delegates and bonding with them by trying his hand atski jumping andbronc riding.[18] The seven weeks he spent inWisconsin helped his brother win the first contested primary of the season there and a similar time spent inWyoming was rewarded when a unanimous vote from that state's delegates put his brother over the top at the1960 Democratic National Convention.[43]
Following his victory in the presidential election, John resigned from his seat as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, but Ted was not eligible to fill the vacancy until his thirtieth birthday on February 22, 1962.[44] Kennedy initially wanted to stay out west rather than run for office right away; he said, "The disadvantage of my position is being constantly compared with two brothers of such superior ability."[45] Kennedy's brothers were not in favor of his running immediately, but Kennedy ultimately coveted the Senate seat as an accomplishment to match his brothers, and their father overruled them.[18] John asked Massachusetts governorFoster Furcolo to name Kennedy family friendBen Smith as interim senator for John's unexpired term, which he did in December 1960.[46] This kept the seat available for Ted.[18]
First Senate campaign, 1962
Meanwhile, Kennedy started work in February 1961 as anassistant district attorney at theSuffolk County, Massachusetts District Attorney's Office (for which he took a nominal$1 salary), where he developed a hard-nosed attitude towards crime.[47] He took many overseas trips, billed as fact-finding tours with the goal of improving his foreign policy credentials.[47][48][49] On a nine-nationLatin American trip in 1961, FBI reports from the time showed Kennedy meeting withLauchlin Currie, an alleged former Soviet spy, together with locals in each country whom the reports deemed left-wingers and Communist sympathizers.[49][50] Reports from the FBI and other sources had Kennedy renting a brothel and opening up bordellos after hours during the tour.[49][50][51] The Latin American trip helped to formulate Kennedy's foreign policy views, and in subsequentBoston Globe columns he warned that the region might turn to communism if the U.S. did not reach out to it in a more effective way.[49][51] Kennedy also began speaking to local political organizations.[45]
A brochure for Kennedy's 1962 campaign
In the1962 U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts, Kennedy initially faced a Democratic Party primary challenge fromEdward J. McCormack Jr., thestate Attorney General. Kennedy's slogan was "He can do more for Massachusetts", the same one his brother John had used in his first campaign for the seat ten years earlier.[52] McCormack had the support of many liberals and intellectuals, who thought Kennedy inexperienced and knew of his suspension from Harvard, a fact which became public during the race.[45] Kennedy also faced the notion that with one brother President and anotherU.S. Attorney General, "Don't you think that Teddy is one Kennedy too many?" But Kennedy proved to be an effective street-level campaigner.[18] His charm was such that one delegate at the party convention said "He's completely unqualified and inexperienced. And I'm going to be with him".[16] In a televised debate, McCormack said "The office of United States Senator should be merited, and not inherited", and said that if his opponent's name was Edward Moore, not Edward Moore Kennedy, his candidacy "would be a joke".[45] Voters thought McCormack was overbearing—a Kennedy supporter said "McCormack was able to make a millionaire an underdog"[16]—and with the family political machine's finally getting fully behind him, Kennedy won the September 1962 primary by a two-to-one margin. In the November special election, Kennedy defeated RepublicanGeorge Cabot Lodge II, product of another noted Massachusetts political family, gaining 55 percent of the vote.[18][53]
United States Senator
First years, brothers' assassinations
Kennedy was sworn into the Senate on November 7, 1962.[54] He maintained a deferential attitude towards the senior Southern members when he first entered the Senate, avoiding publicity and focusing on committee work and local issues.[55][56] He lacked his brother John's sophistication and Robert's intense, sometimes grating drive, but was more affable than either.[55] He was favored by SenatorJames Eastland, chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee. Vice PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, despite his feuds with John and Robert, liked Ted and told aides that he "had the potential to be the best politician in the whole family."[57]
On November 22, 1963, Ted waspresiding over the Senate—a task given to junior members—when an aide rushed in to tell him his brother, President John F. Kennedy,had been shot. His brother Robert soon told him that the President was dead.[45] Ted and his sisterEunice flew to the family home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, to give the news to their invalid father, who had had a stroke two years earlier.[45]
On June 19, 1964, Kennedy was a passenger in a privateAero Commander 680 airplane that was flying in bad weather from Washington, D.C. to Massachusetts. The plane crashed into anapple orchard inSouthampton, Massachusetts, onfinal approach to theBarnes Municipal Airport inWestfield.[58][59] The pilot and Edward Moss (one of Kennedy's aides) were killed.[60] Kennedy was pulled from the wreckage by SenatorBirch Bayh,[58] and spent months in hospital recovering from a back injury, apunctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding.[45] He suffered chronic back pain for the rest of his life.[61][62] Kennedy took advantage of his convalescence to meet with academics and study issues more closely, and the hospital experience triggered his lifelong interest in the provision ofhealth care.[45] His wife Joan did the campaigning for him in theregular 1964 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts,[45] and he defeated his Republican opponent by a three-to-one margin.[53]
Kennedy was walking with a cane when he returned to the Senate in January 1965.[45] He employed a stronger and more effective legislative staff.[45] He took on President Johnson and almost succeeded in amending theVoting Rights Act of 1965 to explicitly ban thepoll tax at the state and local level,[45][63] gaining a reputation for legislative skill.[64] He was a leader in pushing through theImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which ended a quota system based upon national origin. He played a role in the creation of theNational Teachers Corps.[45][65]
Kennedy initially said he had "no reservations" about the expanding U.S. role in theVietnam War and acknowledged it would be a "long and enduring struggle".[64] Kennedy held hearings on the plight of refugees in the conflict, which revealed that the U.S. government had no coherent policy for refugees.[66] Kennedy tried to reform "unfair" and "inequitable" aspects ofconscription.[64] By the time of a January 1968 trip to Vietnam, Kennedy was disillusioned by the lack of progress, and suggested publicly that the U.S. should tellSouth Vietnam, "Shape up or we're going to ship out."[67]
Ted initially advised his brother Robert against challenging the incumbent Johnson for the Democratic nomination in the1968 presidential election.[45] Once SenatorEugene McCarthy's strong showing in theNew Hampshire primary led toRobert's presidential campaign starting in March 1968, Kennedy recruited political leaders for endorsements to his brother in the western states.[45][68] Ted was in San Francisco when his brother Robert won the crucial California primary on June 4, 1968, and then after midnight,Robert was shot in Los Angeles and died the next day.[45] Ted was devastated, as he was closest to Robert among those in the Kennedy family.[69][page needed] Kennedy aideFrank Mankiewicz said of seeing Ted at the hospital where Robert lay mortally wounded: "I have never, ever, nor do I expect ever, to see a face more in grief."[45] At Robert's funeral atSt. Patrick's Cathedral, Kennedy eulogized his older brother:
My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it. Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not."[70]
At the chaotic August1968 Democratic National Convention, Mayor of ChicagoRichard J. Daley and other party factions feared thatHubert Humphrey could not unite the party, and so encouraged Kennedy to make himself available for adraft.[45][71] The 36-year-old Kennedy was seen as the natural heir to his brothers,[52] and "Draft Ted" movements sprang up from various quarters.[71][72] Thinking he was only being seen as a stand-in for his brother and that he was not ready for the job, and getting an uncertain reaction from McCarthy and a negative one from Southern delegates, Kennedy rejected moves to place his name before the convention as a candidate.[71][72] He declined consideration for the vice-presidential spot.[55] SenatorGeorge McGovern remained the symbolic standard-bearer for Robert's delegates instead.[73]
After the deaths of his brothers, Kennedy took on the role of a surrogate father for their children.[74][75] By some reports, he also negotiated the October 1968 marital contract betweenJacqueline Kennedy andAristotle Onassis.[76] Kennedy denied this.[77]
Following RepublicanRichard Nixon's victory in November, Kennedy was assumed to be the front-runner for the 1972 Democratic nomination.[78]In January 1969, Kennedy defeatedLouisiana SenatorRussell B. Long by a 31–26 margin to becomeSenate Majority Whip, the youngest person to attain the position.[55][79] While this further boosted his presidential image, he appeared conflicted by the inevitability of having to run for president;[75][78] "Few who knew him doubted that in one sense he very much wanted to take that path",Time magazine reported, but "he had a fatalistic, almost doomed feeling about the prospect". The reluctance was in part due to the danger; Kennedy reportedly observed, "I know that I'm going to get my ass shot off one day, and I don't want to."[80][81] Indeed, there were death threats made against Kennedy for much of the rest of his career.[82]
On the night of July 18, 1969, Kennedy was atChappaquiddick Island hosting a party for theBoiler Room Girls, a group of young women who had worked on his brother Robert's presidential campaign.[78] Kennedy left the party with 28-year-oldMary Jo Kopechne.
Driving a1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88, he attempted to cross the Dike Bridge, which did not have a guardrail. Kennedy then lost control and crashed in thePoucha Pond inlet, a tidal channel. Kennedy escaped from the overturned vehicle, and, by his description, dove below the surface seven times, vainly attempting to rescue Kopechne. He swam to shore and left the scene, with Kopechne still trapped inside the vehicle. Kennedy did not report the accident to authorities until the next morning, by which time Kopechne's body had already been discovered.[78] Kennedy's cousinJoe Gargan said that he and Kennedy's friendPaul Markham, both of whom were at the party and came to the scene, had urged Kennedy to report it.[83]
A week after the incident, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was given asuspended sentence of two months in jail.[78] That night, he gave a national broadcast in which he said, "I regard as indefensible the fact that I did not report the accident to the police immediately," but he denied driving under the influence of alcohol and denied any immoral conduct between him and Kopechne.[78] Kennedy asked the Massachusetts electorate whether he should stay in office or resign; after getting a favorable response in messages sent to him, Kennedy announced on July 30 that he would remain in the Senate and run for re-election the next year.[84]
In January 1970, an inquest into Kopechne's death was held inEdgartown, Massachusetts.[78] At the request of Kennedy's lawyers, theMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the inquest to be conducted in secret.[78][85][86] The presiding judge, James A. Boyle, concluded that some aspects of Kennedy's story of that night were untrue, and that negligent driving "appears to have contributed" to the death of Kopechne.[86] Agrand jury conducted an investigation in April 1970 but issued no indictment, after which Boyle made his inquest report public.[78] Kennedy deemed its conclusions "not justified."[78] Questions about the incident generated many articles and books.[87]
1970s
Kennedy giving a presentation on his healthcare proposal in June 1971
Despite the Chappaquiddick controversy,Kennedy easily won re-election to the Senate in November 1970 with 62% against underfunded Republican candidateJosiah Spaulding, although he received about 500,000 fewer votes than in 1964.[87]
In January 1971, Kennedy lost his position asSenate Majority Whip to SenatorRobert Byrd of West Virginia, 31–24,[92] probably because of Chappaquiddick. He later told Byrd that the defeat had allowed Kennedy to focus more on issues and committee work,[93][3] where he could exert influence independently from the Democratic party apparatus.[94] Kennedy began a decade as chairman of the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research of theSenate Labor and Public Welfare Committee.
In February 1971, Nixon proposed health insurance reform—an employer mandate to offer private health insurance if employees volunteered to pay 25 percent of premiums, federalization ofMedicaid for the poor with dependent minor children, and support forhealth maintenance organizations.[95][96] Hearings on national health insurance were held in 1971, but no bill had the support of House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee chairmen RepresentativeWilbur Mills and SenatorRussell Long.[95][97] Kennedy sponsored and helped pass the limitedHealth Maintenance Organization Act of 1973.[96][98] He played a leading role, with SenatorJacob Javits, in the creation and passage of theNational Cancer Act of 1971.[99]
In October 1971, Kennedy made his first speech aboutThe Troubles inNorthern Ireland: he said that "Ulster is becoming Britain's Vietnam", advocating for the withdrawal of British troops, called for aunited Ireland,[100] and declared thatUlster Unionists who could not accept this "should be given a decent opportunity to go back to Britain" (a position he backed away from within a few years).[101] Kennedy was sharply criticised by the British and Ulster unionists, and he formed a long political relationship withSocial Democratic and Labour Party founderJohn Hume.[100] In scores of anti-war speeches, Kennedy opposed Nixon's policy ofVietnamization, calling it "a policy of violence [that] means more and more war".[87] In December 1971, Kennedy strongly criticized the Nixon administration's support for Pakistan and its ignoring of "the brutal and systematic repression of East Bengal by the Pakistani army".[102] He traveled to India and wrote a report on the plight of the10 million Bengali refugees.[103] In February 1972, Kennedy flew to Bangladesh and delivered a speech at theUniversity of Dhaka, wherea killing rampage had begun a year earlier.[103]
The Chappaquiddick incident had greatly hindered Kennedy's presidential prospects,[80] and shortly afterwards he declared he would not be a candidate in the1972 presidential election.[78] Nevertheless, polls in 1971 suggested he could win the nomination, and Kennedy gave thought to running. In May he decided not to, saying he needed "breathing time" to gain more experience and take care of his brothers' children, and that "it feels wrong in my gut."[104] Nevertheless, in November 1971, aGallup Poll still had him in first place in the Democratic nomination race with 28 percent.[105]George McGovern was close to clinching the Democratic nomination in June 1972, when various anti-McGovern forces tried to get Kennedy to enter the contest at the last minute, but he declined.[106] At the1972 Democratic National Convention, McGovern repeatedly tried to recruit Kennedy as his vice presidential running mate, but Kennedy turned him down.[106] When McGovern's choice ofThomas Eagleton stepped down soon after the convention, McGovern again tried to get Kennedy to take the nod, again without success.[106] McGovern instead chose Kennedy's brother-in-lawSargent Shriver.
In 1973, Kennedy's 12-year-old sonEdward Jr., was diagnosed withbone cancer; his leg was amputated and he underwent a long, difficult, experimental two-year drug treatment.[78][107] The case brought international attention among doctors and in the media,[107] as did the young Kennedy's return to skiing half a year later.[108] SonPatrick was suffering from severeasthma attacks.[78] The pressure of the situation mounted on Joan Kennedy. On several occasions, she entered facilities for treatment of alcoholism and emotional strain, and was arrested fordrunk driving after a traffic accident.[78][109]
In February 1974, Nixon proposed more comprehensive health insurance reform—an employer mandate to offer private health insurance if employees volunteered to pay 25 percent of premiums, replacement of Medicaid by state-run health insurance plans available to all with income-based premiums and cost sharing, and replacement of Medicare with a federal program that eliminated the limit on hospital days, added income-based out-of-pocket limits, and added outpatient prescription drug coverage.[110][111] In April 1974, Kennedy and Mills introduced a bill for near-universal national health insurance with benefits identical to the expanded Nixon plan—but with mandatory participation by employers and employees through payroll taxes—both plans were criticized by labor, consumer, and senior citizen organizations because of their substantial cost sharing.[110][112][110][113]
Kennedy had initially opposedbusing schoolchildren across racial lines, but grew to support the practice as it became a focal point of civil rights efforts.[117] After federal judgeW. Arthur Garrity ordered theBoston School Committee in 1974 to racially integrate Boston's public schools via busing, Kennedy made a surprise appearance at a September 1974 anti-busing rally inCity Hall Plaza to express the need for peaceful dialogue and was met with hostility.[117][118][119] The predominantly white crowd yelled insults about his children, hurled tomatoes and eggs at him as he retreated into theJohn F. Kennedy Federal Building, and went broke one of its glass walls.[117][118][119]
Kennedy was again much talked about as a contender in the1976 presidential election, with no strong front-runners among the other possible Democratic candidates.[120] Kennedy's concerns about his family were strong, and Chappaquiddick was still in the news, withThe Boston Globe,The New York Times Magazine, andTime magazine all reassessing the incident and raising doubts about Kennedy's version of events.[78][121][122] In 1977, theTimes described Chappaquiddick as Kennedy's Watergate.[123] In September 1974, Kennedy announced that for family reasons he would not run in 1976, declaring that his decision was "firm, final, and unconditional."[120] Kennedy wasup for Senate re-election in 1976. He defeated a primary challenger who was angry at his support forschool busing in Boston. Kennedy won the general election with 69 percent.[124]
TheCarter administration years were difficult for Kennedy; he had been the most important Democrat in Washington since his brother Robert's death, but now Carter was, and Kennedy at first did not have a full committee chairmanship to wield influence.[125] Carter in turn sometimes resented Kennedy's status as a political celebrity.[3] Despite similar ideologies, their priorities were different.[125][126] Kennedy told reporters he was content with his congressional role and denied presidential ambitions,[123] but by late 1977 Carter reportedly saw Kennedy as a future challenger to his presidency.[127]
Kennedy and his wife Joan separated in 1977, though they still staged joint appearances.[128] He held Health and Scientific Research Subcommittee hearings in March 1977 that led to public revelations of extensivescientific misconduct by contract research organizations, includingIndustrial Bio-Test Laboratories.[129][130][131] Kennedy visited China on a goodwill mission in December 1977, meeting with leaderDeng Xiaoping and eventually gaining permission for several mainland Chinese nationals to leave the country; in 1978, he visited the Soviet Union and Brezhnev and dissidents there again.[132] During the 1970s, Kennedy showed interest innuclear disarmament, and as part of his efforts in this field visitedHiroshima in January 1978 and gave a speech to that effect atHiroshima University.[133] He became chairman of theSenate Judiciary Committee in 1978, by which time he had amassed a wide-ranging Senate staff of a hundred.[134]
As a candidate, Carter had proposed health care reform that included key features of Kennedy's national health insurance bill, but in December 1977, Carter told Kennedy his bill must preserve a large role for private insurance companies, minimize federal spending (precluding payroll tax financing), and be phased-in to not interfere with Carter's paramount domestic policy objective—balancing the budget.[135][136][137] Kennedy and labor compromised and made the requested changes, but broke with Carter in July 1978 when he would not commit to pursuing a single bill with a fixed schedule for phasing-in comprehensive coverage.[135][136][138] Frustrated by Carter's budgetary concerns and caution,[2] in a December 1978 speech on national health insurance at the Democratic midterm convention, Kennedy said regarding liberal goals that "sometimes a party must sail against the wind" and in particular should provide health care as "a basic right for all, not just an expensive privilege for the few."[139][140][141]
Kennedy in 1979
In May 1979, Kennedy proposed a new bipartisan universal national health insurance bill—choice of competing federally regulated private health insurance plans with no cost sharing financed by income-based premiums via an employer mandate and individual mandate, replacement of Medicaid by government payment of premiums to private insurers, and enhancement ofMedicare by adding prescription drug coverage and eliminating premiums and cost sharing.[142][143] In June 1979, Carter proposed more limited health insurance reform—an employer mandate to provide catastrophic private health insurance plus coverage without cost sharing for pregnant women and infants, federalization of Medicaid with extension to all of the very poor, and adding catastrophic coverage to Medicare.[142] Neither plan gained any traction in Congress,[144][145] and the failure to come to agreement represented the final political breach between the two.[146] Carter wrote in 1982 that Kennedy "ironically" thwarted Carter's efforts to provide a comprehensive health-care system.[147] In turn, Kennedy wrote in 2009 that his relationship with Carter was "unhealthy" and that "Carter was a difficult man to convince – of anything."[148]
Kennedy decided to seek the Democratic nomination in the1980 presidential election by launching an unusual, insurgent campaign against the incumbent Carter. A midsummer 1978 poll showed that Democrats preferred Kennedy over Carter by a 5-to-3 margin.[87] Through summer 1979, as Kennedy deliberated whether to run, Carter was not intimidated despite his 28 percent approval rating, saying publicly: "If Kennedy runs, I'll whip his ass."[144][146] Carter later asserted that Kennedy's constant criticism of his policies was a strong indicator Kennedy was planning to run.[149] Labor unions urged Kennedy to run, as did some Democratic party officials who feared Carter's unpopularity could result in heavy losses in the 1980 congressional elections.[150] Kennedy decided to run in August 1979, when polls showed him with a 2-to-1 advantage over Carter;[151] Carter's approval rating slipped to 19 percent.[150] Kennedy formally announced his campaign on November 7, 1979, at Boston'sFaneuil Hall.[146] He had already received substantial negative press from a rambling response to the question "Why do you want to be President?" during aninterview with Roger Mudd ofCBS News a few days earlier.[146][152] TheIranian hostage crisis, which began on November 4, and theSoviet invasion of Afghanistan, which began on December 27, prompted the electorate to rally around the president and allowed Carter to pursue aRose Garden strategy of staying at the White House, which kept Kennedy's campaign out of the headlines.[146][153]
Kennedy's campaign staff was disorganized and he was initially an ineffective campaigner.[153][154] There is little evidence Kennedy truly wanted to be president;[146] to observers such asEllen Goodman andAnthony Lewis, the Mudd interview confirmed their belief that he did not want the job. The incoherent answer to Mudd was an example of whatWalter Mondale, who knew Kennedy well from the Senate, described as his way of avoiding a topic by "using words, but they didn't come together somehow".[155] Chris Whipple ofLife, who was present for the interview, wondered if Kennedy's answer was "consciously or otherwise, an act of political self-destruction ... The campaign was over. His heart just wasn't in it".[156] The Chappaquiddick incident emerged as a more significant issue than the staff had expected, with columnists and editorials criticizing Kennedy's answers on the matter.[153] In the January 1980Iowa caucuses that initiated the primaries season, Carter demolished Kennedy by a 59–31 percent margin.[146] Kennedy's fundraising immediately declined and his campaign had to downsize, but he remained defiant, saying "[Now] we'll see who is going to whip whose what."[157] Nevertheless, Kennedy lost three New England contests.[146] Kennedy did form a more coherent message about why he was running, saying atGeorgetown University: "I believe we must not permit the dream of social progress to be shattered by those whose premises have failed."[158] However, concerns over Chappaquiddick and issues related to character prevented Kennedy from gaining the support of many who were disillusioned with Carter.[159] During aSt. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago, Kennedy had to wear a bullet-proof vest due to assassination threats, and hecklers yelled "Where's Mary Jo?" at him.[160] In the key March 18 primary in Illinois, Kennedy failed to gain the support of Catholic voters, and Carter won 155 of 169 delegates.[65][146]
With little mathematical hope of winning the nomination and polls showing another likely defeat in New York, Kennedy prepared to withdraw.[146] However, partially due to Jewish voter unhappiness with a U.S. vote at the United Nations againstIsraeli settlements in theWest Bank, Kennedy staged an upset and won the March 25 vote by 59–41 percent.[146] Carter responded with an advertising campaign that attacked Kennedy's character without explicitly mentioning Chappaquiddick, but Kennedy still managed a narrow win in the April Pennsylvania primary.[146] Carter won 11 of 12 primaries held in May, while on the June 3Super Tuesday primaries, Kennedy won California, New Jersey, and three smaller states out of eight contests.[161] Overall, Kennedy had won 10 presidential primaries against Carter, who won 24.[162]
For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.
TheMadison Square Garden audience reacted with wild applause and demonstrations for half an hour.[146] On the final night, Kennedy arrived late after Carter's acceptance speech and while he shook Carter's hand, he failed to raise Carter's arm in the traditional show of party unity.[65][165]
The 1980 election saw the Republicans capture not just the presidency but the Senate as well, and Kennedy was in the minority party for the first time in his career. Kennedy did not dwell upon his presidential loss,[146] but instead reaffirmed his public commitment to American liberalism.[166] He chose to become the ranking member of theLabor and Public Welfare Committee rather than of the Judiciary Committee, which he would later say was one of the most important decisions of his career.[166] Kennedy became a committed champion of women's issues,[166] and established relationships with select Republican senators to blockReagan's actions and preserve and improve theVoting Rights Act, funding forAIDS treatment, and equal funding for women's sports underTitle IX.[146] To combat being in the minority, he worked long hours and devised a series of hearings-like public forums to which he could invite experts and discuss topics important to him.[146] Kennedy could not hope to stop all of Reagan's reshaping of government, but was often nearly the sole effective Democrat battling him.[167]
In January 1981, Ted and Joan Kennedy announced they were getting a divorce.[168] The proceedings were generally amicable,[168] and she received a reported $4 million settlement when the divorce was granted in 1982.[169] Later that year, Kennedy created theFriends of Ireland organization with SenatorDaniel Moynihan andHouse SpeakerTip O'Neill to support initiatives for peace and reconciliation inNorthern Ireland.[170]
A 1983 KGB memo indicates that Kennedy engaged in back-channel communication with the Soviet Union.[176][177][178] According to a May 1983, memorandum fromChairman of the KGBViktor Chebrikov to general secretaryYuri Andropov, former U.S. SenatorJohn V. Tunney—a friend of Kennedy's—visited Moscow that month and conveyed a message from Kennedy to Andropov.[178][179][180][181] The memo indicates that the stated purpose of the communication was to "'root out the threat of nuclear war', 'improve Soviet-American relations' and 'define the safety of the world'".[181] Kennedy reportedly offered to visit Moscow "'to arm Soviet officials with explanations regarding problems of nuclear disarmament so they may be better prepared and more convincing during appearances in the USA'" and to set up U.S. television appearances for Andropov.[181][178]
Chebrikov also noted "a little-hidden secret that [Kennedy] intended to run for president in 1988 and that the Democratic Party 'may officially turn to him to lead the fight against the Republicans' in 1984 — turning the proposal from one purely about international cooperation to one tinged with personal political aspiration."[181] Andropov was unimpressed by Kennedy's overtures.[179] After the Chebrikov memo was unearthed, Tunney and a Kennedy spokesperson denied it was true.[181] Former Reagan administration negotiatorMax Kampelman has asserted that Kennedy did engage in back-channel communications, but added that "'the senator never acted or received information without informing the appropriate United States agency or official'".Kenneth Adelman, a deputy ambassador to the United Nations under Reagan, has asserted that the Reagan administration knew of back-channel communications between senators and the Soviet Union and were unconcerned.[181]
Kennedy's staff drew up detailed plans for a candidacy in the1984 presidential election that he considered, but with his family opposed and his realization that the Senate was a fully satisfying career, in 1982 he decided not to run.[81][146][182] Kennedy campaigned hard for Democratic presidential nominee Mondale and defended vice presidential nomineeGeraldine Ferraro from criticism over being a pro-choice Catholic, but Reagan was re-elected in a landslide.[183]
Kennedy staged a tiring, dangerous, and high-profile trip to South Africa in 1985.[184] He defied both theapartheid government's wishes and militant leftistAZAPO demonstrators by spending a night in theSoweto home ofBishop Desmond Tutu and visitedWinnie Mandela, wife of imprisoned black leaderNelson Mandela.[146][184] Upon returning, Kennedy became a leader in the push for economic sanctions against South Africa; collaborating with SenatorLowell Weicker, he secured Senate passage, and the overriding of Reagan's veto, of theComprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986.[184] Despite their many political differences, Kennedy and Reagan had a good personal relationship,[185] and with the administration's approval Kennedy traveled to the Soviet Union in 1986 to act as a go-between in arms control negotiations with reformist Soviet leaderMikhail Gorbachev.[146] The discussions were productive, and Kennedy helped gain the release ofSoviet Jewish refuseniks, includingAnatoly Shcharansky.[146][186]
Although Kennedy was an accomplished legislator, his personal life was troubled during this time.[187] His weight fluctuated wildly and he drank heavily – though not when it would interfere with his Senate duties.[187][188] Kennedy later acknowledged, "I went through a lot of difficult times over a period in my life where [drinking] may have been somewhat of a factor or force."[187] He chased women frequently,[189] and was in a series of more serious relationships but did not want to commit to anything long-term.[190] He often caroused with fellow SenatorChris Dodd;[190] twice in 1985 they were in drunken incidents in Washington restaurants, with one involving a waitress claiming the pair sexually assaulted her.[189][191] In 1987, Kennedy and a young female lobbyist were surprised in the back room of a restaurant in a state of partial undress.[81] Female Senate staffers from the late 1980s and early 1990s recalled that Kennedy was on an informal list of male Senators who were known for harassing women regularly.[192]
After again considering a candidacy for the1988 presidential election,[81] in December 1985 Kennedy publicly declined to run. This decision was influenced by his personal difficulties, family concerns, and contentment with remaining in the Senate.[146][189] He added: "I know this decision means I may never be president. But the pursuit of the presidency is not my life. Public service is."[146] Kennedy used his legislative skills to achieve passage of theCOBRA Act, which extended employer-based health benefits after leaving a job.[193][194] Following the1986 congressional elections, the Democrats regained control of the Senate, and Kennedy became chair of the Labor and Public Welfare Committee. Kennedy had become what colleague and future PresidentJoe Biden termed "the best strategist in the Senate".[146] Kennedy continued his close working relationship with ranking Republican SenatorOrrin Hatch,[193] and they were close allies on many health-related measures.[195]
One of Kennedy's biggest battles in the Senate came withReagan's July 1987 nomination of JudgeRobert Bork to theU.S. Supreme Court.[146] Kennedy saw a possible Bork appointment as leading to a dismantling of civil rights law that he had helped put in place, and feared Bork'soriginalist judicial philosophy.[146] Kennedy's staff had researched Bork's writings and record, and within an hour of the nomination – which was initially expected to succeed – Kennedy went on the Senate floor to announce his opposition:
Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens ...[196]
The incendiary rhetoric of what became known as the "Robert Bork's America" speech enraged Bork supporters, who considered itslanderous, and worried some Democrats as well.[81][196][197][198] Bork responded, "There was not a line in that speech that was accurate."[199] In 1988, an analysis published in theWestern Political Quarterly ofamicus curiae briefs filed byU.S. Solicitors General during theWarren andBurger Courts found that during Bork's tenure in the position during theNixon andFord Administrations (1973–1977), Bork took liberal positions in the aggregate as often asThurgood Marshall did during theJohnson Administration (1965–1967) and more often thanWade H. McCree did during theCarter Administration (1977–1981), in part because Bork filed briefs in favor of the litigates in civil rights cases 75 percent of the time (contradicting a previous review of his civil rights record published in 1983).[200][201]
However, the Reagan administration was unprepared for the assault, and the speech froze some Democrats from supporting the nomination and gave Kennedy and other Bork opponents time to prepare the case against him.[196][202] When the September 1987 Judiciary Committee hearings began, Kennedy challenged Bork forcefully on civil rights, privacy, women's rights, and other issues.[146] Bork's own demeanor hurt him,[196] and the nomination was defeated both in committee and the full Senate.[146] The tone of the Bork battle changed the way Washington worked – with controversial nominees or candidates now experiencing all-out war waged against them – and the ramifications of it are still being felt today.[197][202][203]
During the 1988 presidential election, Kennedy supported the eventual Democratic nominee, Massachusetts governorMichael Dukakis.[204] In the fall, Dukakis lost toGeorge H. W. Bush, but Kennedywon re-election to the Senate over RepublicanJoseph D. Malone in the easiest race of his career.[205] Kennedy remained a powerful force in the Senate. In 1988, Kennedy co-sponsored an amendment to theFair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibits discrimination in the rental, sale, marketing, and financing of the nation's housing; the amendment strengthened the ability of theOffice of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity to enforce the Act and expanded the protected classes to include disabled persons and families with children.[206] After prolonged negotiations during 1989 with Bush chief of staffJohn H. Sununu and Attorney GeneralRichard Thornburgh to secure Bush's approval, he directed passage of the landmarkAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990.[193][207] Kennedy had personal interest in the bill due to his sister Rosemary's condition and his son's lost leg, and he considered its enactment one of the most important successes of his career.[193] In the late 1980s Kennedy and Hatch staged a prolonged battle against SenatorJesse Helms to provide funding to combat theAIDS epidemic and provide treatment for low-income people affected; this would culminate in passage of theRyan White Care Act.[208] In late November 1989, Kennedy traveled to see first-handthe newly fallen Berlin Wall; he spoke atJohn-F.-Kennedy-Platz, site of the famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in 1963, and said "Emotionally, I just wish my brother could have seen it."[209]
Early 1990s
Kennedy's personal life came to dominate his image. In 1989,paparazzi stalked him on a vacation in Europe and photographed him having sex on a motorboat.[187] In February 1990,Michael Kelly published his lengthy profile "Ted Kennedy on the Rocks" inGQ magazine.[81] It captured Kennedy as "an aging Irish boyo clutching a bottle and diddling a blonde," portrayed him as an out-of-controlRegencyrake, and brought his behavior to the forefront of public attention.[81][187][190] Kennedy's brother-in-law,Stephen Edward Smith, died from cancer in August 1990; Smith was a close family member and troubleshooter, and his death left Kennedy emotionally bereft.[187][210] Kennedy pushed on, but even his legislative successes, such as theCivil Rights Act of 1991, which expanded employee rights in discrimination cases, came at the cost of being criticized for compromising with Republicans and Southern Democrats.[211]
OnEaster weekend in March 1991, Kennedy was at a get-together at the family'sPalm Beach, Florida, estate. After reminiscing about his brother-in-law, Kennedy was restless and maudlin when he left for a late-night visit to a local bar. He got his sonPatrick and nephewWilliam Kennedy Smith to accompany him.[187][212] Patrick and Smith returned with women they met there, Michelle Cassone and Patricia Bowman. Cassone said that Ted Kennedy subsequently walked in on her and Patrick; Ted was dressed only in a nightshirt and had a weird look on his face.[187][212] Smith and Bowman went out on the beach, where they had sex that he said was consensual but she said was rape.[187] The local police made a delayed investigation; Kennedy sources were soon feeding the press with negative information about Bowman's background, and several mainstream newspapers broke an unwritten rule by publishing her name.[212] The case quickly became amedia frenzy.[187][212] While not directly implicated in the case, Kennedy became the frequent butt of jokes onThe Tonight Show and other late-night television programs.[187][213]Time magazine said Kennedy was being perceived as a "Palm Beach boozer, lout and tabloid grotesque" whileNewsweek said Kennedy was "the living symbol of the family flaws".[214]
Bork andClarence Thomas were the two most contentious Supreme Court nominations in United States history to that point.[215] When theThomas hearings began in September 1991, Kennedy pressed Thomas on his unwillingness to express an opinion aboutRoe v. Wade, but the nomination appeared headed for success.[216] WhenAnita Hill brought the sexual harassment charges against Thomas the following month, the nomination battle dominated public discourse. Kennedy was hamstrung by his past reputation and the ongoing developments in the William Kennedy Smith case.[187][217] He said almost nothing until the third day of the Thomas–Hill hearings, and when he did it was criticized by Hill supporters for being too little, too late.[187]
BiographerAdam Clymer rated Kennedy's silence during the Thomas hearings as the worst moment of his Senate career.[217] WriterAnna Quindlen said "[Kennedy] let us down because he had to; he was muzzled by the facts of his life".[217] On the day before the full Senate vote, Kennedy gave an impassioned speech against Thomas, declaring that the treatment of Hill had been "shameful" and that "[t]o give the benefit of the doubt to Judge Thomas is to say that Judge Thomas is more important than the Supreme Court."[218] He then voted against the nomination.[217] Thomas was confirmed by a 52–48 vote, one of the narrowest margins ever for a successful nomination.[217]
Due to the Palm Beach media attention and the Thomas hearings, Kennedy's public image suffered. AGallup Poll gave Kennedy a 22 percent national approval rating.[187] ABoston Herald/WCVB-TV poll found that 62 percent of Massachusetts citizens thought Kennedy should not run for re-election, by a 2-to-1 margin thought Kennedy had misled authorities in the Palm Beach investigation, and had Kennedy losing a hypothetical Senate race to GovernorWilliam Weld by 25 points.[219] Meanwhile, at a June 17, 1991, dinner party, Kennedy sawVictoria Anne Reggie, a Washington lawyer, a divorced mother of two, and the daughter of an old Kennedy family ally,Louisiana judge Edmund Reggie.[220] They began dating and by September were in a serious relationship.[220] In a late October speech at theJohn F. Kennedy School of Government, Kennedy sought to begin a political recovery, saying:
I am painfully aware that the criticism directed at me in recent months involves far more than disagreements with my positions ... [It] involves the disappointment of friends and many others who rely on me to fight the good fight. To them I say, I recognize my own shortcomings – the faults in the conduct of my private life. I realize that I alone am responsible for them, and I am the one who must confront them.[187]
In December 1991, theWilliam Kennedy Smith rape trial was held; it was nationally televised and the most watched until theO. J. Simpson murder case three years later.[187] Kennedy's testimony at the trial seemed relaxed, confident, and forthcoming, and helped convince the public that his involvement had been peripheral and unintended.[221] Smith was acquitted.
Kennedy and Reggie continued their relationship, and he was said to be devoted to her two children, Curran and Caroline.[187][222] They became engaged in March 1992,[223] and were married in a civil ceremony by JudgeA. David Mazzone on July 3, 1992, at Kennedy's home inMcLean, Virginia.[224] She would gain credit for reportedly stabilizing his personal life and helping him resume a productive Senate career.[187][222]
Kennedy had no further presidential ambitions. Despite having initially backed former fellow Massachusetts SenatorPaul Tsongas in the1992 Democratic presidential primaries, Kennedy formed a good relationship with Democratic PresidentBill Clinton upon the latter taking office in 1993.[225] Kennedy floor-managed passage of Clinton's National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 that created theAmeriCorps program, and despite reservations supported the president on theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).[226] On the issue Kennedy cared most about, national health insurance, he supported but was not much involved in formation of theClinton health care plan, which was run by First LadyHillary Clinton and others.[193] It failed badly and damaged the prospects for such legislation for years to come.[193] In 1994, Kennedy's strong recommendation of his former Judiciary Committee stafferStephen Breyer played a role in Clinton appointing Breyer to theU.S. Supreme Court.[227] During 1994 Kennedy became the first senator with a home page on theWorld Wide Web; the product of an effort with theMIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, it helped counter the image of Kennedy as old and out of touch.[228][229]
Results of Kennedy's re-election to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts in 1994 against Republican challengerMitt Romney
In the1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, Kennedy faced his first serious challenger, the young, telegenic, and very well-fundedMitt Romney.[187] Romney ran as a successful entrepreneur and Washington outsider with a strong family image and moderate stands on social issues, while Kennedy was saddled not only with his recent past but the 25th anniversary of Chappaquiddick and his first wife Joan seeking a renegotiated divorce settlement.[187] By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race to be even.[187][230] Kennedy's campaign ran short on money, and belying his image as endlessly wealthy, he was forced to take out asecond mortgage on his Virginia home.[231] Kennedy responded with a series ofattack ads, which focused both on Romney's shifting political views and on the treatment of workers at a paper products plant owned by Romney'sBain Capital.[187][232] Kennedy's new wife Vicki proved to be a strong asset in campaigning.[230] Kennedy and Romney held a widely watched late October debate without a clear winner, but by then Kennedy had pulled ahead in polls and stayed ahead afterward.[233] In the November election, despite avery bad outcome for the Democratic Party nationally, Kennedy won re-election by a 58 percent to 41 percent margin,[234] the closest re-election race of his career.
Kennedy's motherRose died in January 1995. From then on, Kennedy intensified the practice of his Catholic faith, often attendingMass several times a week.[235]
Late 1990s
Kennedy's role as a liberal lion in the Senate came to the fore in 1995, when (after the1994 US House of Representatives elections) theRepublican Revolution took control and legislation intending to fulfill theContract with America was coming fromNewt Gingrich's House of Representatives.[236] Many Democrats in the Senate and the United States overall felt depressed but Kennedy rallied forces to combat the Republicans.[236] By the beginning of 1996, the Republicans had overreached; most of the Contract had failed to pass the Senate and the Democrats could once again move forward with legislation, almost all of it coming out of Kennedy's staff.[237]
Kennedy's official Senate portrait in the 1990s
In 1996, Kennedy secured an increase in theminimum wage, which was one of his favorite issues;[238] there would not be another increase for ten years. Following the failure of theClinton health care plan, Kennedy went against his past strategy and sought incremental measures instead.[239] Kennedy worked with Republican SenatorNancy Kassebaum to create and pass theHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in 1996, which set new marks for portability of insurance and confidentiality of records.[193] The same year, Kennedy'sMental Health Parity Act forced insurance companies to treat mental health payments the same as others with respect to limits reached.[193] In 1997, Kennedy was the prime mover behind theState Children's Health Insurance Program,[240] which used increasedtobacco taxes to fund the largest expansion of taxpayer-funded health insurance coverage for children in the U.S. sinceMedicaid began in the 1960s. Senator Hatch and Hillary Clinton also played major roles in SCHIP passing.[241]
Kennedy was a stalwart backer of President Clinton during the 1998Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, often trying to cheer up the president and getting him to add past Kennedy stafferGreg Craig to his defense team, which helped improve the president's fortunes.[242] In the trial after the 1999impeachment of Clinton, Kennedy voted to acquit Clinton on both charges, saying "Republicans in the House of Representatives, in their partisanvendetta against the President, have wielded the impeachment power in precisely the way the framers rejected, recklessly and without regard for the Constitution or the will of the American people."[243]
On July 16, 1999, Kennedy's nephewJohn F. Kennedy Jr. was killed when hisPiper Saratoga aircraftcrashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast ofMartha's Vineyard. John Jr.'s wife,Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, were also killed.[244] Ted was the family patriarch, and he and President Clinton consoled his extended family at the public memorial service.[244] He paraphrasedW. B. Yeats by saying of his nephew: "We dared to think, in that other Irish phrase, that this John Kennedy would live to comb gray hair, with his beloved Carolyn by his side. But like his father, he had every gift but length of years."[244]The Boston Globe wrote of the changed role: "It underscored the evolution that surprised so many people who knew the Kennedys: Teddy, the baby of the family, who had grown into a man who could sometimes be dissolute and reckless, had become the steady, indispensable patriarch, the one the family turned to in good times and bad."[244]
Kennedy had an easy time withhis re-election to the Senate in 2000, as Republican lawyer and entrepreneur Jack E. Robinson III was sufficiently damaged by his past personal record that Republican state party officials refused to endorse him.[245] Kennedy got 73 percent of the general election vote, with Robinson splitting the rest withLibertarianCarla Howell. During thelong, disputed post-presidential election battle in Florida in 2000, Kennedy supported Vice PresidentAl Gore's legal actions.[246] After the bitter contest, many Democrats in Congress did not want to work with incoming PresidentGeorge W. Bush.[193] Kennedy, however, saw Bush as genuinely interested in a major overhaul of education, Bush saw Kennedy as a potential major ally in the Senate, and the two partnered together on the legislation.[193][247] Kennedy accepted provisions governing mandatory student testing and teacher accountability that other Democrats and theNational Education Association did not like, in return for increased funding levels for education.[193] TheNo Child Left Behind Act was passed by Congress in May and June 2001 and signed into law by Bush in January 2002. Kennedy soon became disenchanted with the implementation of the act, however, saying for 2003 that it was $9 billion short of the $29 billion authorized.[193] Kennedy said, "The tragedy is that these long overdue reforms are finally in place, but the funds are not,"[247] and accused Bush of not living up to his personal word on the matter.[193][211] Other Democrats concluded that Kennedy's penchant for cross-party deals had gotten the better of him.[193] The White House defended its spending levels given the context of two wars[248] going on.[193]
Kennedy was in his Senate offices meeting with First LadyLaura Bush when theSeptember 11, 2001, attacks took place.[244] Two of the airplanes involved had taken off from Boston, and Kennedy telephoned each of the 177 Massachusetts families who had lost members in the attacks.[244] He pushed through legislation that provided healthcare and grief counseling benefits for the families, and recommended the appointment of his former chief of staffKenneth Feinberg as Special Master of the government'sSeptember 11th Victim Compensation Fund.[244] Kennedy maintained an ongoing bond with the Massachusetts 9/11 families in subsequent years.[244][249]
Portrait of Kennedy in the mid-2000s
Kennedy was a supporter of theAmerican-led 2001 overthrow of theTaliban government inAfghanistan. However, Kennedy strongly opposed theIraq War from the start, and was one of 23 senators voting against theIraq War Resolution in October 2002.[244] As theIraqi insurgency grew in subsequent years, Kennedy pronounced that the conflict was "Bush'sVietnam."[244] In response to losses of Massachusetts service personnel toroadside bombs, Kennedy became vocal on the issue ofHumvee vulnerability, and co-sponsored enacted 2005 legislation that sped up production and Army procurement of up-armored Humvees.[244]
Despite the strained relationship between Kennedy and Bush over 'No Child Left Behind' spending, the two attempted to work together again on extendingMedicare to coverprescription drug benefits.[193] Kennedy's strategy was again doubted by other Democrats, but he saw the proposed $400 billion program as an opportunity that should not be missed.[193] However, when the final formulation of theMedicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act contained provisions to steer seniors towards private plans, Kennedy switched to opposing it.[193] It passed in late 2003, and led Kennedy to again say he had been betrayed by theBush administration.[193]
In 2006, aCessna Citation 550 in which Kennedy was flying lost electrical power after being struck by lightning and had to be diverted.[255]
In November 2006, Kennedy again easilywon re-election to the Senate, winning 69 percent of the vote against Republican language school ownerKenneth Chase, who suffered from very poor name recognition.[256]
Kennedy initially stated that he would support John Kerry again if he were to make another bid for president in 2008, but in January 2007, Kerry said he would not make a second attempt for the White House.[257] Kennedy then remained neutral as the2008 Democratic nomination battle between Senators Hillary Clinton andBarack Obama intensified, because his friendChris Dodd was also running for the nomination.[258] The initial caucuses and primaries were split between Clinton and Obama. When Dodd withdrew from the race, Kennedy became dissatisfied with the tone of the Clinton campaign and what he saw as racially tinged remarks by Bill Clinton.[258][259] Kennedy gave an endorsement to Obama on January 28, 2008, despite appeals by both Clintons not to do so.[260] In a move that was seen as a symbolic passing of the torch,[244] Kennedy said that it was "time again for a new generation of leadership," and compared Obama's ability to inspire with that ofhis fallen brothers.[259] In return, Kennedy gained a commitment from Obama to make universal health care a top priority of his administration if he were elected.[258] Kennedy's endorsement was considered among the most influential that any Democrat could get,[261] and raised the possibility of improving Obama's vote-getting among unions,Hispanics, and traditional base Democrats.[260] It dominated the political news, and gave national exposure to a candidate who was still not well known in much of the USA, as theSuper Tuesday primaries across the nation approached.[258][262]
Doctors initially informed Kennedy that the tumor was inoperable, but Kennedy followed standard procedure and sought other opinions. He decided to follow the most aggressive course of treatment possible.[265] On June 2, 2008, Kennedy underwentbrain surgery atDuke University Medical Center in an attempt to remove as much of the tumor as possible.[267][268] The 3½-hour operation—conducted by Dr.Allan Friedman while Kennedy was conscious to minimize any permanent neurological effects—was deemed successful.[267][268] Kennedy left the hospital a week later to begin a course ofchemotherapy andradiation treatment.[269] Opinions varied regarding Kennedy's prognosis: the surgery typically extends survival time for only a few months, but people can sometimes live for years.[268][270]
The operation and follow-up treatments left Kennedy thinner, prone to additional seizures, weak and short on energy, and hurt his balance.[265]Kennedy made his first post-illness public appearance on July 9, when he surprised the Senate by showing up to supply the added vote to break a Republicanfilibuster against a bill to preserveMedicare fees for doctors.[271] In addition, Kennedy was ill from an attack ofkidney stones. Against the advice of some associates,[272][273] he insisted on appearing during the first night of the2008 Democratic National Convention on August 25, 2008, where a video tribute to him was played. Introduced by his nieceCaroline Kennedy, the senator said, "It is so wonderful to be here. Nothing – nothing – is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight."[244] He then delivered a speech to the delegates (which he had to memorize, as his impaired vision left him unable to read a teleprompter)[235] in which, reminiscent of his speech at the1980 Democratic National Convention, he said, "this November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans. So, with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on."[274] The dramatic appearance and speech electrified the convention audience,[244][273][275] as Kennedy vowed that he would be present to see Obama inaugurated.[276]
On September 26, 2008, Kennedy suffered a mild seizure while at home in Hyannis Port; he immediately went to the hospital, was examined and released later that same day. Doctors believed that a change in his medication triggered the seizure.[275] Kennedy relocated to Florida for the winter; he continued his treatments, did a lot of sailing, and stayed in touch with legislative matters via telephone.[265] In his absence, many senators wore blue "Tedstrong"bracelets.[265]
On January 20, 2009, Kennedy attendedBarack Obama's presidential inauguration, but then suffered a seizure at the luncheon immediately afterwards. He was taken by ambulance toMedStar Washington Hospital Center.[277] Doctors attributed the episode to "simple fatigue". He was released from the hospital the following morning, and he returned to his home in Washington, D.C.[278]
When the111th Congress began, Kennedy dropped his spot on the Senate Judiciary Committee to focus all his attentions on national health care issues, which he regarded as "the cause of my life".[265][279][280] He saw the characteristics of theObama administration and the Democratic majorities in Congress as representing the third and best great chance for universal health care, following the lost 1971 Nixon and1993 Clinton opportunities,[281] and as his last big legislative battle.[265] Kennedy made another surprise appearance in the Senate to break a Republican filibuster against theObama stimulus package.[282] When spring arrived, Kennedy appeared onCapitol Hill more frequently, although staffers often did not announce his attendance at committee meetings until they were sure Kennedy was well enough to appear.[265] On March 4, 2009,Prime Minister of the United KingdomGordon Brown announced that Kennedy had been granted an honoraryknighthood byQueen Elizabeth II for his work in theNorthern Ireland peace process, and for his contribution toUK–US relations,[283][284] although the move caused some controversy in the UK due to his connections withGerry Adams of theIrish republican political partySinn Féin.[285] Later in March, a bill reauthorizing and expanding theAmeriCorps program was renamed theEdward M. Kennedy Serve America Act by Senator Hatch in Kennedy's honor.[286] Kennedy threw theceremonial first pitch atFenway Park before theBoston Red Sox season opener in April, echoing what his grandfather "Honey Fitz" – a member of theRoyal Rooters – had done to open the park in 1912.[287] Even when his illness prevented him from being a major factor in health plan deliberations, his symbolic presence still made him one of the key senators involved.[288]
However, Kennedy's tumor had spread by spring 2009 and treatments for it were no longer effective; this information was not disclosed to the public.[235] By June 2009 Kennedy had not cast a Senate vote in three months,[289] and his deteriorating physical health had forced him to retreat to Massachusetts, where he underwent another round of chemotherapy.[282] In his absence, premature release of his health committee's expansive plan resulted in a poor public reception.[290] Kennedy's friendChris Dodd had taken over his role on theHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee,[291] but Republican senators and other observers said that the lack of Kennedy's physical presence had resulted in less consultation with them and was making successful negotiation more difficult.[282][292] Democrats also missed Kennedy's ability to smooth divisions on the health proposals.[293] Kennedy did cut a television commercial for Dodd, who was struggling early on in his2010 re-election bid.[291] In July,HBO began showing a documentary tribute to Kennedy's life,Teddy: In His Own Words.[294] A health care reform bill was voted out of the committee with content Kennedy favored, but still faced a long, difficult process before having a chance at becoming law.[295] At the end of July 2009, Kennedy was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom.[296] He could not attend the ceremony to receive this medal, and attended a private service but not the public funeral when his sisterEunice Kennedy Shriver died at age 88 on August 11, 2009.[293] In his final days, Kennedy was in a wheelchair and had difficulty speaking, but consistently stated that "I've had a wonderful life".[235]
Kennedy died of a brain tumor on August 25, 2009, at the age of 77, at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, two weeks after the death of his sisterEunice Kennedy Shriver.[297] In a statement, Kennedy's family thanked "everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice".[298]
Reaction
President Obama said that Kennedy's death marked the "passing of an extraordinary leader"[299] and that he and First LadyMichelle Obama were "heartbroken",[300] while Vice President Biden said "today we lost a truly remarkable man,"[301] and that Kennedy "changed the circumstances of tens of millions of Americans".[302]Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor and Kennedy's opponent in the 1994 Senate race, called Kennedy "the kind of man you could like even if he was your adversary"[303] and former first ladyNancy Reagan said she was "terribly saddened". She went on, "Given our political differences, people are sometimes surprised how close Ronnie and I have been to the Kennedy family. ... I will miss him."[304][305] SenatorRobert Byrd, thePresident pro tempore of the Senate, issued a statement on Kennedy's death in which he said "My heart and soul weeps at the loss of my best friend in the Senate, my beloved friend";[306] Byrd had cried uncontrollably on the Senate floor when Kennedy's cancer diagnosis was made public the previous year.[307]
There were also tributes from outside politics. Before aBoston Red Sox game, flags atFenway Park were flown at half-staff and "Taps" was performed as players stood along the baselines,[308] and theYankees observed a moment of silence before a game atYankee Stadium.[309]
Funeral services
Kennedy's funeral procession traveled 70 miles (110 km) from the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port to theJohn F. Kennedy Library in Boston, where his corpselay in repose;[310] over 50,000 members of the public filed by to pay their respects.[311] On Saturday, August 29, a procession traveled from the library to theOur Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston, for a funeral Mass.[312] Present at the funeral service were President Obama and former presidentsJimmy Carter,Bill Clinton, andGeorge W. Bush (also representing his father, former presidentGeorge H. W. Bush, who decided not to attend),[313] along with Vice President Biden, three former vice presidents, 58 senators, 21 former senators, many members of the House of Representatives, and several foreign dignitaries.[314] President Obama delivered theeulogy.[315]
Kennedy's remains were returned to Washington, D.C., and laid to rest atArlington National Cemetery, near the graves of his assassinated brothers.[315] Former Cardinal and Washington, D.C., ArchbishopTheodore McCarrick presided over his burial service, which was attended by Biden, Kennedy's widow Vicki, and other members of theKennedy family.[317] Kennedy's grave marker is identical to his brother Robert's: a white oak cross and a white marble foot marker bearing his name and years of birth and death.[318]
Aftermath
True Compass, the memoir that Kennedy worked on throughout his illness, was published three weeks after his death.[319] It debuted atop theNew York Times Best Seller list[320] and by mid-December 2009 had sold some 400,000 copies.[321]
A special election was scheduled for January 19, 2010, for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts left vacant by Kennedy's death.[322] Shortly before his death, Kennedy had written to DemocraticGovernor of MassachusettsDeval Patrick and theMassachusetts legislature, asking them to change state law to allow an appointee to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy for a term expiring upon the special election.[323][324][325] Kennedy had been instrumental in the prior 2004 alteration of this law to prevent GovernorMitt Romney from appointing a Republican senator should John Kerry's presidential campaign succeed.[326] The law was amended, and on September 24, 2009,Paul G. Kirk, formerDemocratic National Committee chairman and former aide to Kennedy, was appointed to occupy the Senate seat until the completion of the special election.[327] Kirk announced that he would not be a candidate in the special election.[327] In that election, Republican State SenatorScott Brown won the seat in a stunning upset,[328] ending Democratic control of it going back to 1953.
Brown's victory ended the 60-vote supermajority in the Senate that the Democrats had held since mid-2009.[329][330] Democrats rallied and passed health care reform legislation; SpeakerNancy Pelosi, who was instrumental in doing so, credited Kennedy in her closing remarks on the House floor before the final vote.[329][331] Kennedy's widow Vicki attended the signing of thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act, at which both she and President Obama wore blue "Tedstrong" bracelets.[330] CongressmanPatrick Kennedy brought a copy of a national health insurance bill his father had introduced in 1970 as a gift for the president.[330] He laid a note on his father's grave that said, "Dad, the unfinished business is done."[332] Patrick's earlier decision not to seek re-election meant that in January 2011, a 64-year-long period in which a Kennedy held Federal elective office came to an end,[333] but resumed in January 2013 (due to the November 2012 election) with Ted's great-nephew,Joseph P. Kennedy III, becoming a member of the House.[334] Democratic control of Kennedy's former Senate seat was also regained following Brown's2012 loss toElizabeth Warren.
Political scientists gaugeideology in part by comparing the annual ratings by theAmericans for Democratic Action (ADA) with the ratings by theAmerican Conservative Union (ACU).[335] Kennedy had a lifetimeliberal 90 percent score from the ADA through 2004,[336] while the ACU awarded Kennedy a lifetimeconservative rating of 2 percent through 2008.[337] Using another metric, Kennedy had a lifetime average liberal score of 88.7 percent, according to aNational Journal analysis that places him ideologically as the third-most liberal senator of all those in office in 2009.[338] A 2004 analysis by political scientists Joshua D. Clinton ofPrinceton University and Simon Jackman and Doug Rivers ofStanford University examined some of the difficulties in making this kind of analysis, and found Kennedy likely to be the 8th-to-15th-most liberal Senator during the108th Congress.[339]The Almanac of American Politics rates congressional votes as liberal or conservative on thepolitical spectrum, in three policy areas: economic, social, and foreign. For 2005–2006, Kennedy's average ratings were as follows: the economic rating was 91 percent liberal and 0 percent conservative, the social rating was 89 percent liberal and 5 percent conservative, and the foreign rating was 96 percent liberal and 0 percent conservative.[340]
During his tenure, Kennedy became one of the most recognizable and influential members of his party and was sometimes called a "Democratic icon"[343] as well as "The Lion of the Senate".[62][344][345][346] Kennedy and his Senate staff authored around 2,500 bills, of which more than 300 were enacted into law.[193] Kennedy co-sponsored another 550 bills that became law after 1973.[193] Kennedy was known for his effectiveness in dealing with Republican senators and administrations, sometimes to the irritation of other Democrats.[347] During the101st Congress under PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush, at least half of the successful proposals put forward by theSenate Democratic policy makers came out of Kennedy's Labor and Human Resources Committee.[348] During the 2000s, almost every bipartisan bill signed during theGeorge W. Bush administration had significant involvement from Kennedy.[62] A late 2000s survey of Republican senators ranked Kennedy first among Democrats in bipartisanship.[346] Kennedy strongly believed in the principle "never let the perfect be the enemy of the good," and would agree to pass legislation he viewed as incomplete or imperfect with the goal of improving it down the road.[62] In April 2006, Kennedy was selected byTime as one of "America's 10 Best Senators"; the magazine noted that he had "amassed a titanic record of legislation affecting the lives of virtually every man, woman and child in the country" and that "by the late 1990s, the liberal icon had become such a prodigious cross-aisle dealer that Republican leaders began pressuring party colleagues not to sponsor bills with him".[211] In May 2008, soon-to-be Republican presidential nomineeJohn McCain said, "[Kennedy] is a legendary lawmaker and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner."[62] RepublicanGovernor of California and Kennedy relativeArnold Schwarzenegger described "Uncle Teddy" as "a liberal icon, a warrior for the less fortunate, a fierce advocate for health-care reform, a champion of social justice here and abroad" and "the rock of his family".[346] At the time of Kennedy's death, sociologist andNation board memberNorman Birnbaum wrote that Kennedy had come to be viewed as the "voice" and "conscience" ofAmerican progressivism.[349]
Despite his bipartisan legislative practices, Kennedy was a polarizing symbol ofAmerican liberalism for many years.[211][350][351][352] Republican and conservative groups long viewed Kennedy as a reliable "bogeyman" to mention in fundraising letters,[347] on par with Hillary Clinton and similar to Democratic and liberal appeals mentioningNewt Gingrich.[353][354] The famous racially motivated "Hands" attack ad used in North Carolina SenatorJesse Helms's 1990 re-election campaign againstHarvey Gantt accused Gantt of supporting "Ted Kennedy's racial quota law".[355]University of California, San Diego political science professorGary Jacobson's 2006 study ofpartisan polarization found that in a state-by-state survey of job approval ratings of the state's senators, Kennedy had the largest partisan difference of any senator, with a 57 percentage point difference in approval between Massachusetts's Democrats and Republicans.[356] TheAssociated Press wrote that, "Perhaps because it was impossible, Kennedy never tried to shake his image as a liberal titan to admirers and a left-wing caricature to detractors."[352]
After Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968, Ted was the most prominent living member of theKennedy family and the last surviving son of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. John F. Kennedy had said in 1957, "Just as I went into politics because Joe died, if anything happened to me tomorrow, my brother Bobby would run for my seat in the Senate. And if Bobby died, Teddy would take over for him."[357] However, Ted was never able to carry on the "Camelot" mystique in the same way that both of his fallen brothers had, with much of it disappearing during his failed 1980 presidential bid.[347] His negligence in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick and his well-documented later personal problems further tarnished his image in relation to the Kennedy name,[1] and significantly damaged his chances of ever becoming president.[2][65][358] TheAssociated Press wrote, "Unlike his brothers, Edward M. Kennedy has grown old in public, his victories, defeats and human contradictions played out across the decades in the public glare."[347] But Kennedy's legislative accomplishments remained, and asThe Boston Globe wrote, "By the early 21st century, the achievements of the younger brother would be enough to rival those of many presidents."[1] His death prompted the realization that the "Camelot era" was truly over.[359][360] Kennedy'sThe New York Times obituary described him via acharacter sketch:
He was aRabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life, instantly recognizable by his shock of white hair, his florid, oversize face, his booming Boston brogue, his powerful but pained stride. He was a celebrity, sometimes a self-parody, a hearty friend, an implacable foe, a man of large faith and large flaws, a melancholy character who persevered, drank deeply and sang loudly. He was a Kennedy.[2]
^"Harvard yearly results" (1955-1959 seasons). College Football Data Warehouse. Archived fromthe original on July 28, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 14, 2014.
^Trotta, Liz (1994).Fighting for Air: In the Trenches With Television News. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. p. 184.ISBN0-8262-0952-1.
^Jacobs, David C. (1987). "The UAW and the Committee for National Health Insurance: the contours of social unionism". In Lewin, David; Lipsky, David; Sockell, Donna (eds.).Advances in industrial and labor relations: a research annual. Vol. 4. Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press. pp. 119–140.ISBN0-89232-909-2.
^abcCongressional Quarterly (1975). "National health insurance: no action in 1974".Congressional Quarterly almanac, 93rd Congress 2nd session....1974. Vol. 30. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. pp. 386–394.ISSN0095-6007.OCLC1564784.
^Foster, Douglas; Mark Dowie; Steve Hubbell; Irene Moosen; Peter Waldman; Center for Investigative Reporting (June 1982)."Poisoned Research".Mother Jones. pp. 38–40,42–43,45–48.Archived from the original on September 27, 2024. RetrievedOctober 27, 2015.
^Mintz, Morton (June 1, 1979). "Indictment Accuses Drug-Testing Firm of Falsifying Results".The Washington Post. p. A9.
^Richards, Bill (September 8, 1977). "Wide Errors, Possible Fraud Found in Private Lab Testing".The Washington Post. pp. 1, A11.
^abMorris, Jonas (1984). "The Carter years".Searching for a cure: national health policy considered. New York: Pica Press. pp. 92–171.ISBN0-87663-741-1.
^abCongressional Quarterly (1980). "National health insurance".Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 96th Congress 1st Session....1979. Vol. 35. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly. pp. 536–540.ISSN0095-6007.OCLC1564784.
^Starr, Paul (2011). "Stumbling toward comprehensive reform: Political deadlock, 1969–1980".Remedy and reaction: the peculiar American struggle over health care reform. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 52–63.
^Mayer, William (March 28, 2004)."Kerry's Record Rings a Bell".The Washington Post. Archived fromthe original on October 19, 2004. RetrievedAugust 24, 2008.The question of how to measure a senator's or representative's ideology is one that political scientists regularly need to answer. For more than 30 years, the standard method for gauging ideology has been to use the annual ratings of lawmakers' votes by various interest groups, notably the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and the American Conservative Union (ACU).
^"Committed Senate Liberals".National Journal. February 28, 2009. Archived fromthe original on March 4, 2009. RetrievedMarch 3, 2009. Kennedy's composite average only goes back to 1981, whenNational Journal began their ratings.
^Barone & Cohen 2008, p. 791In 2005, the ratings were E 95 0, S 90 0, F 95 0; in 2006, E 87 0, S 88 11, F 98 0. Examination of two previous volumes ofThe Almanac of American Politics shows similar scores for 2001–2002 and 1997–1998.
^Van Natta, Don Jr. (July 10, 1999)."Hillary Clinton's Campaign Spurs A Wave of G.O.P. Fund-Raising".The New York Times.One Republican strategist involved in the New York Senate race doubted that the contributions aimed at defeating Mrs. Clinton would help her Republican opponent, or even that much of the money would wind up in New York. He said most of the donations would pay for direct-mail costs and other overhead. 'I don't see it as a tremendous benefit to any candidate,' this strategist said. 'This is what the Republicans did with Ted Kennedy and the Democrats did with Newt Gingrich. Every fund-raising group in the world loves a bogyman.'
^Thrush, Glenn (March 5, 2009)."GOP finds Pelosi an elusive target".Politico.Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. RetrievedJune 20, 2009.James Carville, Bill Clinton's top adviser in 1992 and a longtime Pelosi watcher, said vitriol toward the speaker is confined to a relatively small corner of the GOP base and hasn't yet crossed over to independents or conservative Democrats. 'Our recent history in this country is we look for "hooks," people who get you really fired up – Ted Kennedy, Newt Gingrich, Hillary Clinton,' Carville said. 'People come in and out and we try out these hooks on 'em.'
^Jacobson, Gary (August 2006). "Partisan Differences in Job Approval Ratings of George W. Bush and U.S. Senators in the States: An Exploration".Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
Burke, Richard E. (1993).The Senator: My Ten Years with Ted Kennedy. St. Martin's Press.ISBN0-312-95133-7.
Farrell, John A.Ted Kennedy: A Life (2022) major biographyextract
Gabler, Neal.Catching the Wind : Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour, 1932-1975 (2020), before the Senate.excerpt
Gabler, Neal.Against the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism, 1976-2009 (2022)excerpt, major scholarly biography covers the Senate years in great detail.
Haas, Lawrence J.The Kennedys in the World: How Jack, Bobby, and Ted Remade America's Empire (2021)excerpt
Hersh, Burton (1972).The Education of Edward Kennedy: A Family Biography. New York: Wm. Morrow & Company.
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