A good politician who lived a harsh life! Above average for sure! However, he was no saint!

He was another reason to vote Republican

A fat drunk, who got away with murder. Now in his name they'll cram Obama-med down our throats as a tribute.

His legislative successes are unrivaled. One of the most important figures in our history. A true champion of education, civil rights, and the under privileged.

he'd be cool to have a beer with

A drunken lout who has become something of a caricature, Teddy can still rise to the occasion at times and deliver an impressive speech.  Those who see only the caricature fail to see the often cunning political operative, who has survived on the hill so long he can wheedle, connive, bully and charm folks on both sides of the aisle.

He has, as of this writing, been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, with poor prospects for survival.  I'm not a huge fan of the last of Joe's sons left standing, but having seen the effects of a brain tumor at close hand, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Fare gently.

Yeah, blueblitzkrieg, that's really mature of you to defend Edward (Ted) Kennedy by bringing up the equally tragic circumstances involving Laura Bush's accident. It is truly unfortunate that there are sad, pathetic people like you who are willing to exploit people's personal tragedies in a vain attempt to get their point across (instead of making some intelligible, cogent points- of which you seem incapable of). But then again, even a spiteful person like you is entitled to say what you think and feel. Personally, I don't agree with Ted Kennedy's politics (nor do I give a crap about his family today). But here are some points to consider in what makes him even remotely relevant: (1) whether people like him or not, Kennedy has been extremely influential in the Democratic Party as he has helped shape the party platform for more than forty years; (2) Kennedy's longevity in the U.S. Senate has served him in that he has had the opportunity to sponsor bills which, in turn, have affected Americans for quite sometime. A liberal stalwart, he makes no bones about how he sees things- and as such is fairly predictable when it comes time to vote. Love him or hate him, everyone knows where Ted Kennedy stands. Perhaps (if anything), Ted Kennedy is a man who inspires (and enflames) others because of his knack for being so openly vocal and opinionated- often ranting about why he disagrees with the Republicans and etc. Moreover, he has a penchant for vulgar behavior. But Kennedy has been effective as a devout member of his party while in the Senate.

UPDATE: Many of us may disagree with him. But politics (and jokes) aside, we should all hope that the senior Senator from Massachusetts makes a quick and successful recovery. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

Only in MA

Uncle Ted, true man of the people. He's had his trials and failed at some as we all do but he has a heart the size of him. He truly cares for the poor and middleclass which is rare in Congress. Yes, he's rich and but if he were poor who would listen?

way past time for him to retire

Would have been great but he is attacking his potential best friend (Hillary) too much.  Hillary is not the enemy, the REPUBLICANS are, stupid!

as been in power too long and need to go now.

He is becoming a caricature. He was the only Kennedy, however, who ever really buckled down and tried to be a senator.

A crook that needs to be put in jail.

Tired politics, tired ideas from a drunk killer of a Politician. It amazes me how he continues to get re-elected by the ignorant public.

The 1965 Immigration Reform,Hart-Cellar Bill alone makes him a complete traitor to this country.The list of other sins is too numerous to list,but this is truly his biggest sin.A total embarrassment.The people and voters of Massachussettes love to believe how smarter they are than the rest of the country( Especially Southerners ) because they're Ivy League Country,but the fact that they keep re-electing Ted Kennedy to congress more than blows that delusion totally out of the water. It's at least 35 years overdue,to IMPEACH THIS TRAITOR!!!!

Too bad I cannot give this fat drunken putz 0 stars.An obnoxious,stupid,left wing,pampered,hypocritical jackass of a nitwit.Drove a woman to her death THEN TRIED TO HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER TAKE THE FALL,cheated in college,badgered Alito re CAP when this meatball belonged to the woman excluding Owl club.I can go on and on about this bloated turkey.

MURDERER

Influential, a better orator than his opponents give him credit for, and has made some good speeches over the years. Is particularly good at hammering away at Bush in recent years. But Chappaquidick, the thing with his nephew, and other big flaws erase all that for me. I do like Bobby's kid Joe, who "bitchslapped," in a verbal sense, some N.Ireland border guard once, and who has helped a lot of elderly and poor people get heating in the winter, a decent man.

Ah, yes, Ted (hiccup) Kennedy. He's angry, cynical (hiccup) and totally blind to the majority of opinions that Americans can hold. And, he can't even remember who Barack Obama (hiccup) is! LOL!

Perfect posterboy for the liquor industry

Living proof that money will buy you justice and a seat in the Senate

Now, nothing more than a drunken blowhard that is reelected by his home state only because of the Kennedy legacy that preceded him. JFK didn't think he would amount to much but it's good that JFK wasn't around to endure what he has done to the Kennedy name. Maybe if he was a success like his two brothers he would have suffered the same fate. It was like Teddy was the only one that had control over his fate and just made a mess of it, while the rest had to go down in terrible tragedies that they had no control over.

In this fuel crisis, and other exculating costs, Senator Kennedy has not done nothing. I saw a mild speach about the poor people in Boston, well how about the rest of the state of Massachusetts, it gets cold here too! You put more effort in bashing the other party than resolving the problems in Massachusetts, and our Country.Now you are making an appearance now that it re-election time.

Bi-Partisan? Because he occasionally will work with others? He's an out of touch, rich, pompous deviate that survived off his name and now his experience and contacts. A laughing stock we still deal with here in Mass. becausse while he'll vote against every defense bill, he manages to get those that pass to bring money andd jobs to our state. A ponderous oaf that should go out to pasture.

Not bad. . .hasn't killed anyone in a car in over 20 years!

Ted can go way over the top, but he actually gets a lot done in a bipartisan manner.

Sexually depraved, murdering, drunken lout. And those are his good characteristics.

keeping sticking it to the bushies, teddie. expose the disaster that this iraq nonsense is. Sen Kennedy has stayed true to his liberal leanings throughout his career. As he should have. He has a backbone and being a rich guy could easily have sold out to the money grubbers in our society.

He gets a 1 only because the rating system doesn't go into the negatives.

This syphilitic, alcoholic murderer has gone off the deep end, I fear. I was in disbelief earlier when he complained about water torture allegedly used at Abu Ghraib, apparently forgetting that he himself drowned a young woman. Then, his hat trick was to disparage the US presence in Iraq right before the Iraqi elections. His family needs to hold an intervention, and tell Teddy to retire (or tell him last call, which he may better understand).

This bloated buffoon is a treasonous fool. His incredibly stupid attempt to sabotage the Iraqi election backfired. Noe he should resign or be removed by a recall election.

(hiccup)

You people are kidding, right? I'm a democrat from Mass., not a republican, and even I am ashamed and embarassed by his personal life. A comparison to Laura Bush and the facts of Ted going off the bridge? He drove off a bridge with his pregnant girlfriend while out partying with her - as his wife slept at home. He then left her, alive - in the car while he went home and tried to convince someone else to say they were in the car instead of him. So as the Kennedys argued about how to handle it, she slowly drowned and they did nothing. At best he was drunk and paniced which caused his pregnant girlfriend to drown while the Kennedys 'managed' the story and then paid off her family. At worst, he killed her and is a murderer. I am ashamed of my state every time we vote him back in.

This guy is a bad joke that never goes away!!

If this man's reputation was not marred by the mistakes of youth, he would rank much higher on this list.

Alcoholic.Molester.Killer.Adulterer. Typical Massachusetts politician. That's the good part. Now, the bad part is that he is still in office.

swim

All you Republicans calling him a murderer, go ask Laura Bush about the time she had to scrape her boyfriend's dead body off the front of her car.

call him what you will just remember to call him a veteran

He is nothing without his last name

Liberal drunk murderer. What else is there?

Steady Teddy is a sorry excuse for a human being. He left Mary Jo Kopechne to die and could have saved her if he wanted to. But no, he was too drunk and only thinking of his sorry ass and political future to care about Mary Jo. It's been reported Mary Jo possibly lived at least a half hour after the car was submerged in the water. He should have been charged with neligent homicide or vehicular manslaughter and thrown in jail, not being re-elected time after time. If his brothers weren't assassinated, he would have been toast.

How long can this guy ride on the family name and do they HAVE to let him out in public?

What exactly is your purpose in life? Do you have a soul? Why don't you take your bottle of gin, and that ugly mug of yours to the Betty Ford to dry out.

I used to work for a supermarket in Cambridge Massachusetts years ago. A supermarket that served liquor. And guess who was a frequent customer in my register? Joan Kennedy. And what did she always but, hard booze.. I also worked in a restaruant in 1986 with a neighbor of Mary-Jo and she told me that her parents were paid off $1,000,000.00 to keep their mouths shut. And they moved to New Jersey. So Teddy, you and your whole family dead or alive are nothing but scum! You cheat and beat your wives and leave people for dead.. MURDERER !

For a review of who Ted Kennedy is, read Jeff Jacoby's syndicated column from 7/22/04. Find out who John Kerry's closest political colleague and mentor is.

An East coast elitist communist islamo fascist lover. Agree with the muderer liar comments. Totally out of touch. This guy has a sorrdid past and is quite dilusional. If Ben Ladin ever came to power poor Teddy doesn't realize he would be one of the first executed. This guy has zero street smarts and that is what you need in the war on terror. Also has become a caricature of himself. He is a communist. His family by the way hasa been on the wrong side of every single American conflict (his father was a Hitler sympathiser). Why should anything this guy says even be relevant?

Fat white Catholic mixed together, equal this partisan fool. Not a good politician. Doesn't seem like the best of person.

Drunk, Adulterer, Murderer, Socialist - quite a resume, Ted!