Ted Kennedy's Family, Inner Circle "Furious" Caroline's Camp Is Blaming Senate Bid Withdrawal On His Health: Time

Of all the many ways in which Caroline Kennedy's brief and unofficial candidacy for Senate was mishandled, one final ungraceful note is striking particularly close to home, Sources close to Senator Edward M. Kennedy tell TIME that his circle -- including his immediate family -- is furious that his brain cancer is being cited by some in her camp as the reason for her decision to withdraw her name from consideration for the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton.

"It looks horrible," says one former aide to Ted Kennedy. "It makes him look like he is at death's door." In fact, those close to Kennedy, 76, say that while the Senator is suffering occasional seizures, such as the one that sent him to the hospital on Tuesday during the celebratory Capitol lunch for the newly inaugurated President, he is generally doing well. And they add that Kennedy is fully engaged in the effort to pass universal health care legislation -- a cause for which he has fought for decades, and one in which he will play a crucial role as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. See photos of Obama's inauguration)

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