WASHINGTON — I am immersed in research on the life of he who was called the Lion of the Senate, Edward M. Kennedy, known by one and all as Teddy. Readers of this column will be surprised to hear that I do not think his life was totally devoted to mischief. Oh, yes, there was the Chappaquiddick mishap. And one cannot ignore the slandering of Judge Robert Bork, which was at once ignorant and unconscionable. Judge Bork at the time of Teddy’s outburst against him was probably indifferent to abortion and at any rate would not have made the elimination of abortion his obsession if he were raised to the Supreme Court. Obviously it was one of Teddy’s obsessions, despite the teachings of his church.
Yet Teddy did some good. He served the people of Massachusetts well. He was, for them and for the country, a far superior senator than the zany John Kerry. He could work with Republicans at times, and he did so occasionally with good result, for instance in education.
