TED KENNEDY

The NY times obituary calls the life of Ted Kennedy "gifted and flawed." It started out as a fairy tale. Three Kennedys in Washington. A dynasty was born. Camelot. Then by 1968, after the assasination of RFK 5 years after JFK was gunned down in Dallas, there was only Ted. A senate member since 1962, the "liberal lion" was part of. His biggest fight was for health care. A fight that Senator John McCain said this morning, would have been easier to get bipartisan support on had Kennedy been healthy enough to have been there. The Chappaquidick incident in 1969 in which he drove a car off of a Martha's Vineyard bridge, killing a female companion, essentially ended any hopes for a national top of the ticket run. Kennedy turned down the VP position on the 1972 George McGovern ticket, but did take on the incumbent Jimmy Carter in 1980 only to lose handily. Ted made his point though, and his famed "no handshake" with Carter at the Democratic convention sank the already sinking Carter hopes for re election. Then there were the bills he helped get through.The Voting Rights act of 1964, the Disabilities act of 1990, the family and medical leave act of 1997, the Immigration reform act of 2007 , No Child left behind act of 2002, voing NO on the Iraq War

Let's hope that what comes out of Kennedy's passing is more than an emotional reminder that the fight to reform healthcare should not and can not get lost in partisan politics. Someone in the Senate needs to grab the reigns and spearhead the way towards finding a middle ground to work outwardly from. The Ted Kennedy health care bill would be the Massachussets Senator's greatest legacy.It's time. For a look back on his life from the Boston Herald, click here.

above: Kennedy with JFK , RFK. Also pictured with Vietnam vet and 2004 Presidentail candidate John Kerry