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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
May 22, 2008
17 Iyar 5768
How Ted earned our respect
By
Michael Goodwin
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Back in 1980, I was in Puerto Rico on a newspaper assignment when Ted Kennedy arrived to campaign in the island's first presidential primary. Kennedy's bid was controversial because he was challenging incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter, and Kennedy already had earned a reputation for carousing on Capitol Hill. Those were not exactly ideal starting points for mounting a White House campaign.
Moreover, this was only 11 years after the outrage on Chappaquiddick Island, where he abandoned Mary Jo Kopechne as she drowned in a car he drove off a bridge. Despite the still powerful feelings for his two assassinated brothers, John and Robert, the incident cast serious doubts on Ted's electability and fitness to be President.
Those observations were part of a conversation I was having with a top official of the Puerto Rican government when he uttered a line that instantly put the Kennedy presidential bid into a context. "When it comes to Ted and his brothers," I remember the official saying, "it's good to realize that every litter has a runt."
I've often thought back on that moment, and did again yesterday when the news broke that Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The sad news provoked a recognition of how far Ted has come in the quarter century since that unsuccessful 1980 campaign, his last for the Oval Office.
Partisanship aside, Kennedy has grown to become the kind of senator every American should want as his representative. He is a fierce fighter for the causes he believes in, yet, in the best traditions of the Senate, has built a long record of working with Republicans to gather bipartisan support for major pieces of legislation.
He has partnered with leading members of the GOP on a list of laws that includes President Bush's signature education effort, No Child Left Behind. He and John McCain, now the GOP nominee for President, co-authored the huge immigration bill last year that was defeated despite Bush's support.
Crafting that one involved tight deadlines and last-minute changes to satisfy both Democrats and Republicans. At the finish, two Bush cabinet secretaries - both of whom Kennedy had criticized in the past - called him the key to the bipartisan deal and lavished praise on a man who is often their adversary.
"He's awesome," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff gushed to The Boston Globe. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told The Globe it was "a real privilege" to work with Kennedy.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose relationship with Kennedy became strained after the Massachusetts Democrat endorsed Barack Obama, echoed a thought she expressed to me two years ago when she lauded him yesterday as "one of the greatest legislators in Senate history."
Such genuine admiration reflects that Kennedy became a master of arcane Senate procedural rules that can make or break the best plans for legislation and funding. He also earned the trust and respect of a generation of Republican colleagues, many of whom count him as a personal friend despite ideological differences.
All these attributes are routine in most lines of work, but Kennedy's ability to practice the best traditions of the Senate as a cool deliberative body stand in stark contrast to the hyperpartisanship that has left Washington in a state of gridlock. His theory, one colleague said, was to approach problems and differences with the spirit of "let's get something done."
Ultimately, that pragmatic approach is the only way government can function. Compromise does not necessarily mean abandoning principles. Rather, it's a determination to solve problems despite those clashing principles.
Ted Kennedy embodies that understanding.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Michael Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here.
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