The Day The Earthquake Hit…
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
The Earthquake struck at 1:00pm Eastern Standard Time, when the announcement was made.
It was a 10 on the political Richter scale—and the aftershocks will be felt for months—if not longer….
The earthquake we’re talking about was the news that Ted Kennedy has brain cancer in the form of a malignant tumor…
It rocked the Massachusetts political landscape—which is his home base—but it also reverberated through Washington, as well as both the liberal and conservative factions of all political parties.
Love him or hate him—Ted Kennedy is an icon.
Undoubtedly, the most quintessential inside player ever to walk the halls of congress— Kennedy got things done.
Perhaps no one knows that better than David Hawkins, the Managing Editor of Congressional Quarterly..
Almost everyone who ever lived in Massachusetts has a story of how they reached out to his office—and had action taken to resolve the issue.
Back in the 70’s, my uncle—a career Air Force officer—ended up on the wrong side of a commanding officer.
In an effort to punish my uncle—his commander had orders drawn up to ship him to a lonely outpost—where he would lanquish doing nothing for the next 5 years..
At the time my uncle was involved in some pretty sophisticated and specialized operations for the Air Force.
My mother—angry at the injustice—called Senator Kennedy’s office.
With-in days, my uncle’s orders were changed, and he went on to achieve great success in his military career.
He later told of how his commanding officer called him in to announce the change of orders—and asked, “who the hell do YOU know who could pull those kind of strings?”
That was one Ted Kennedy.
There was also another Ted Kennedy—the womanizer, and hard drinking party guy.
And, you can’t talk about Ted Kennedy without recalling the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident.
He drove his car off a bridge, leaving Mary Jo Kopechne to drown.
Questions about his actions linger to this day.
Now it’s possible, we’ll begin writing the last chapter in Ted Kennedy’s story.
Medical experts say given his age, the type of cancer, and the treatment options—he could have very little time left.
His departure from the political landscape will have enormous repercussions.
He is unique.
And for all his triumphs and shortcomings, there will never be another like him in our lifetimes.
—Steve
Link to the video and story Steve covered today on NBC-17
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