Sen. Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, the particulars of which I'll spare you, but essentially odds are against him. It seems that most of the media outlets have started to eulogize him, focusing on his life, his legacy, and his "passing of the torch". Since Sen. Kennedy has been one of the greatest supporters of Obama, everyone with a left-of-center political bent is rushing to say that Obama is the next member of the "Kennedy Dynasty".
While I am too young to have lived through the heyday of the Kennedy years, JFK and Bobby Kennedy, I still grew up with the idea of Kennedy. I call it the 'Idea of Kennedy' because I very much doubt that it paints the whole picture of them, and for all I know is not even historically accurate.
Whether it's true or not is unimportant, but the idea of Kennedy is roughly as follows:
-A Kennedy is a racial groundbreaker, bringing together Blacks and Whites in times of extreme racial tension.
-A Kennedy is an incredibly charismatic orator, giving goosebumps to even his fiercest critics when they hear him speak.
-A Kennedy is the American Dream incarnate, the children of immigrants that went from poverty to de-facto American Royalty in just a few generations.
-A Kennedy knows how to party and relax, it's almost expected of them, so when they do you can't get mad, you just shrug and say "Oh, that's our Kennedy!" as if in a 1950's sitcom.
These are the images conjured in my mind when I think of what it means to be 'a Kennedy'. This is also why every left-leaning pundit in the country will be rushing forward in the next few days to say that Ted Kennedy, the last of the REAL Kennedys, has "Passed the Torch" to Barrack Obama. They want to make sure that when you think of Barrack Obama, you think of the Idea of Kennedy, and get that same warm and fuzzy feeling everyone gets while talking about JFK. They also seem to be quick to point out, that Ted never chose to pass that torch to Bill Clinton, who has been the only Democrat in the Whitehouse in 25 years. Obama is the next Kennedy, not Hillary.
However, it's also important to remember the other than the Idea of Kennedy, there's much to be said about the reality of Ted Kennedy. He's been in the Senate for nearly 50 years, which clearly doesn't speak to the idea of groundbreaking change in Washington that Obamaniacs chant. He's about as left-wing as a Democrat Senator can be, consistently voting for bigger government projects, increasing the minimum wage, strong supporter of gay rights and immigrant rights, and all other things left-of-center. While no one can doubt his Charisma, the Chappaquiddick incident, might be cause for questioning his integrity.
While it's difficult to lump everything he's done into possitive or negative, I think the Obama campaign might be a bit too hasty in accepting the torch its being passed. For many of the undecided voters who lean towards the Republicans but are considering Obama, or the white, poor, uneducated people that Clinton is so vocal in claiming would never vote for him, an endorsement from Ted Kennedy, if presented in the right light, could be the kiss of death for the Illinois Senator. I don't think it would take much more than listing the most controversial of Kennedy's votes and implying Obama would do the same as president to turn many voters away.
But for now, at least the Obama campaign is taking a gamble that the Idea of Kennedy will be more powerful than the reality of Ted.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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5 comments:
In light of the tragic nature surrounding Ted Kennedy's health and the media's current and future efforts to immortalize him while downplaying some of his more sketchy past, there will be little tolerance by centrists for injecting Ted Kennedy into campaign rhetoric in a negative way. Any attempt by either McCain or the 527s to remind America of Kennedy's more controversial stances in an effort to tarnish Barrack will be met by fierce opposition that will only serve to help Obama. I see little way this Obama/Kennedy association can hurt him, given that those who are informed enough to know about Kennedy's record have already chosen left or right.
You have to remember that not everyone that listens to Rush Limbaugh et al. is a hardcore republican. Talk radio hosts have absolutely no problem with kicking politicians while they're down, and im sure something will be brought up. However, I agree that on a grand scale there will probably be relatively few people making this comparison.
I think despite his personal problems, what even republicans seem to acknowledge is though Kennedy is to the left of center on many issues, he is the one they go to when they attempt to do bipartisan legislation. As is the case with the immigration bill, which him, Bush, and McCain worked on, or the No Child Left Behind Act, they attempt to make it palpable to as many people as possible while fixing the problem. I think that is where the positive eulogizing comes from in addition to majesty that comes with the Kennedy name.
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