Before
Camelot: Senator John F. Kennedy, center, and his
brothers
Edward Kennedy, left, still a law student, and Robert F.
Kennedy,
then chief counsel to the Senate Rackets Committee,
at
the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, March 15, 1958.
L'Express, France
Adieu, Senator
Kennedy!
"Ted
Kennedy was not in politics for power. He was not in politics for glory. He was
in politics because of his ideals. … There are from time to time, people who are
'righteous.' Ted Kennedy had become one such man. Farewell, Senator Kennedy!"
By Bernard Hamburger
Harcourt *
Translated By
Philippe Guittard
August 26, 2009
France - L'Express - Original Article (French)
We just learned today of the
death of Senator Ted Kennedy, who for the past year was extremely ill with
brain cancer. I must confess, he leaves behind a great void. It is an enormous
loss to the United States. Ted Kennedy had become - after a youth fraught with error
and presidential stumblings - one of the most remarkable "statesmen" of
the United States - a statesman that was one of the most dedicated, zealous and
devoted to his ideals. He had become, with all of his faults, one of the "righteous."
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
I had the good fortune, more
than ten years ago, to have seen this man in action. It was inspiring. The
situation concerned a nomination to the federal courts - I'll be discreet, I'm
not going to name names. Let's just say that neither he nor I was in favor of
the nomination, and that we were among some of the very few people and
organizations that were opposed. Ted Kennedy was the only strong voice of opposition
in the Senate. But what was more remarkable was his personal investment in the Senate
vote. Standing almost alone against a strong majority, Ted Kennedy stalked in
and out of the Senate counting votes for and against, writing notes to his aides,
and trying one last time to convince his colleagues. Even when he knew he had
lost, he continued to put all he had into it - because he believed so profoundly
in his heart and conscience in the ideas, principles and causes he pursued. I had
never seen that before.
I had become a little cynical,
a little disillusioned. Ted Kennedy was not in politics for power. He was not in
politics for glory. He was in politics because of his ideals.
There are, from time to time,
people who are "righteous." Ted Kennedy had become one such man.
Farewell, Senator Kennedy!
*Bernard Hamburger
Harcourt is a French-American who teaches criminology and sociology at the
University of Chicago. He has also taught and done research at the École des
Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales ŕ l’Université Paris X-Nanterre.
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH VERSION
[Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US August 26, 6:35pm]
