The death of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy marks not only the end of the Kennedy era in Amercian politics, it marks the end of an era of "genteel" politics. I have a fairly close friend that served in Congress for several years. This friend was a very right leaning Republican. He had the opportunity to work with and against Senator Kennedy on many issues. My friend said that there were many people that vehemently opposed Senator Kennedy on many issues. However, my friend said that virutally everyone respected Senator Kennedy. While Senator Kennedy certainly had his human failures and made many mistakes, he was a person that genuinely cared for all people, including political opponents. My friend mentioned that, whenever a Member of Congress experienced the loss of a loved one, Senator Kennedy always sent a personal note and often made it a point to attend funeral services. He would often make an effort to visit the grieving families. Senator Kennedy put forth most of these efforts outside of the public eye.
It should come as no surprised that even Senator Kennedy's most bitter political rivals are mouning the loss of a man that genuinely cared for people as individuals.
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