THE LAST LION

Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy
1932-2009

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
~Senator Edward Kennedy

In my adult life there has been three politicians that I have absolutely, without a doubt admired. Anyone who knows me, knows my respect and awe of Bill Clinton, not just as a President, but for the remarkable things he is doing since his presidency ended. Clinton's Foundation and work with providing medical care for those with Aids in Africa should be an inspiration to everyone.

The second politician was Governor Lawton Chiles (FL-DEM) ( the governor of our state before Jeb Bush and the embarrassment of living in the state that robbed Al Gore of his presidency). Lawton Chiles was a good ole' southern politician that I had the great pleasure to meet and shake hands with. He was " Florida", an honest, straight-talking old school politician.

The third politician was Ted Kennedy. I can't think of a political issue that I disagreed with him on, and just seeing him sitting there in the senate chambers let me know there was someone there "on my side". He was well respected by members of both political parties and became known as "the Greatest Kennedy" as reported by CNN today.

This spring when I was home alone I read an excellent book entitled "The Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy, put out by authors of the Boston Globe. It was excellent. They did not glorify the young Ted and they covered Chappaquiddick in great detail, but they also went into great detail about what Senator Kennedy meant to the United States of America. I highly recommend reading this book. I am sad, one of my heroes is gone. But I am also proud to have been a supporter and those supposedly dirty words a "Liberal Democrat." I hope Ted Kennedy rests in peace.

"Even though we knew this day was coming, we awaited it with no small amount of dread." "His extraordinary life on this Earth has come to an end. The extraordinary good that he did lives on."

~President Barack Obama