US Features
Tears, shock over Kennedy's brain cancer diagnosis
May 21, 2008, 9:24 GMT
US Senator Edward Kennedy EPA/STEFAN ZAKLIN
Washington - Stunned silence swept Tuesday across the US Congress, observers said.
One colleague wept.
Senator Edward 'Ted' Kennedy, left-wing icon and champion of the rights of workers and the poor, had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
The announcement sent shockwaves throughout Washington's political establishment, with Republican and Democratic leaders alike paying tribute to his achievements and significance in US political life.
Outside medical experts expressed sobering prospects for recovery from the malignant glioma tumor in the 76-year-old senator's left parietal lobe, a diagnosis confirmed through a biopsy taken after a seizure on Saturday.
But many of Kennedy's colleagues were upbeat, believing that the man who fought so hard for voting rights, civil rights, and rights for the disabled would overcome this challenge, too.
Democrat Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, said she had 'confidence' that Kennedy's 'fighting spirit' would help him through.
'He's a strong guy, with a great heart,' said Senator Chris Dodd, a fellow Democrat from Connecticut, a neighbouring state to Kennedy's native Massachusetts.
Others were more somber.
Robert Byrd, 90, a Democrat from West Virginia, is the only sitting senator who has served longer than Kennedy's 46 years in the chamber.
Byrd put his head down on his desk on the Senate floor and wept. 'Ted, my dear friend, I love you, and I miss you,' he sobbed. 'Thank God for Ted.'
Leading Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, an African-American senator who received a strong, early endorsement from Kennedy, said that he expected his colleague to 'fight as hard as he can.'
'I stand on his shoulders,' Obama said. 'I would not be sitting here as a presidential candidate had it not been for some of the battles Ted Kennedy has fought.'
While Kennedy is often on the left wing of the centre-left Democratic Party, he worked with centre-right Republicans on many major pieces of legislation - including with President George W Bush to pass the 'No Child Left Behind' education law in 2001.
Kennedy has since been sharply critical of most Bush administration policies, including the implementation of the education reforms on which they cooperated. Nonetheless, the president issued a statement saying he and his family were praying for Kennedy.
'Ted Kennedy is a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength, and powerful spirit,' Bush said. 'Our thoughts are with Senator Kennedy and his family during this difficult period.'
Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, called Kennedy the 'last lion in the Senate' and 'the single most effective member of the senate.' In television footage from his travelling campaign bus, McCain appeared to be choked with emotion while talking about his colleague.
Senator Hillary Clinton, who was disappointed in January over Kennedy's support of Obama, was also shaken, calling the cancer diagnosis 'very difficult' news.
'Obviously, he is a fighter. There's never been anybody like him in the Senate,' she said. 'He's probably the most effective single senator our country has ever seen.'
In fact, Clinton has been mentioned by pundits as a possible successor to Kennedy as the senate's 'liberal lioness' if she loses her bid for her party's nomination, as now widely expected.
As the last surviving national political figure from his fabled family, Kennedy endured the assassination of two of his older brothers: president John Kennedy was assassinated in office in 1963, and senator Robert Kennedy was killed by a gunman while running for president in 1968. The oldest of the Kennedy brother, Joseph, was killed in World War II.
John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee and Kennedy's fellow senator from Massachusetts, was visibly stricken by the grave word about his colleague.
'Ted Kennedy and the Kennedy family have faced adversity more times in more instances with more courage and more determination and more grace than most families ever have to face,' Kerry said.
'This guy is one unbelievable fighter.'
© Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
again sp4 shows how stupid he is.
and what a prick he is
Hear hear ye.
show everybody he can spell Kopeckne. I guess he gets a star for that one.
Dear sp4:
Please, go kill yourself, the man has BRAIN CANCER!!! and all you can think about is partisan bickering. Please, grow a concience.
This asshole has done more to ruin American society than any other person in government. I do not wish him good health and I don't feel the least bit bad about feeling this way. His entire career has been anti American, anti family, and anti common sense. If he does recover, I pray he retires and just goes away.
ie grim-reaper. Nice post ass-hole.
Call me names if you like but you can't show me one way we are better off with Ted's legacy.
I feel the same way about Bush, Obama and Hillary. Wish they'd go away.
I was just feeling a little compassion, as a human being, for Teddy.
Sorry about the grim-reaper crack, ass-hole.
Just what this country needs right now - more hatred!!!
Always thought this murdering,commie,obstructionist, drunk was brain damaged....Guess this just proves it!!!Hope this puts an end to America's royal family screwing things up!!!
...you spell-check pussies!
I agree with SP4. Though I detest when cancer has any victory I fell no sympathy for Kennedy other than to wish him well in his fight over it. He murdered that girl and lied about it and through corruption and his corrupt family influence he escaped any punishment for her death. Even his own Pope was swayed in right actions against he for his killing of the girl and for his whore-mongering and adultery.
I also cried for the woman he killed years ago. Just drove her into the lake ...blub...blub...of course he had stepped out and pushed the car in.
'SP4: I spelled it from memory too...May 23rd, 2008 - 21:45:08
...you spell-check pussies!'
Riiiight, SP. Sure you did. You pulled it from the memory bank over at Wiki.
Do you know how to spell Wiki, SP? Here's a clue - W i k i. That's just in case you lose the Wiki bookmark your mommy put on your computer.
...they want ME off the site...
!
Are these folks actually THIS frightened?
Honestly SP4, the man has BRAIN CANCER, he's DIEING, I think Pres. bush is scum of the earth, but if he was going to die of brain cancer I would feel pity. Please, grow a soul, you heartless bastard.
Sometimes you would think the scum of the earth is posting here.
...No one should have to hurt, and me, of all people does not wish a death on someone. Having said that, this guy has been let out of every pecadillo he's ever done, twentyfold. I don't like politicians who get away with manslaughter, so sue me.
To Matt:
What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?
...he's talking about you, Dan!
I really dislike the guy--I do beleve there is a good chance he did murder that girl, but-----he has been helpfull with cancer research--rather ironic he now has it himself
Why me??? All I ever said was have empathy for others, even if you don't like them. what the @&$# is wrong with that.
One does have to admit that almost every terrible piece of legislation to have been put forward in my lifetime (47 years) has Teddys' fingerprints or name all over it. Everything this guy has done is detrimental to the U.S....everything. And another thing, we all die, so if some A hole who has behaved as if his brain is infected, actually turns out to have an infected brain, well so be it. We're still allowed to call a spade a spade, cancer or no cancer.
That is a good arguement, but what you are saying is in bad taste because you are on a forum ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE HAS BRAIN CANCER. go laugh at his misfortune somewhere else.
Senator Kennedy will at least have the satisfaction of leaving the country in what he believes to be safe hands:
//www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5810644.html
Vote for the SERIOUS lefty. Vote Obama.
page: 1
SP4: I shed a tear too....May 21st, 2008 - 14:23:19
...but it was for Mary Jo Kopeckne
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