So I sat through all the unfamiliar ceremony, the maudlin commentary, and the endless repetitions of the speech at the 1980 Democratic Convention, waiting for President Obama to take the body in his arms and tell the nation how this death sets the scene for a renewed commitment to heroic politics. But, nothing.
What might President Obama have said?
"We gather here today to honor the life of Edward Kennedy, the blessedly long-lived and uniquely inspiring American leader. Although we meet in his beloved Boston, he was, to borrow a phrase, America's Senator. There is never a good time to lose a Ted Kennedy. But this is a uniquely painful moment indeed.
"Like all Americans, I have witnessed in the last month scenes of our fellow citizens proclaiming their indifference to the suffering of others. As one demonstrator's sign said recently, 'Drop Dead. I Won't Pay for Your Health Care.' Another told the New York Times that in America the safety net must not catch too many people. As we lay to rest this long-lived servant of the American nation, let us take a moment to remember that his story is an evergreen reminder of another way for Americans to live. We loved then and weep now for Edward Kennedy because he cared for others - his family, his brothers' families, his state, the racial minorities, the victims of 9/11, the mentally ill ... and the physically ill, especially the ones who, without our love, will, indeed, fall through the safety net, many to their death.
"Like Ted Kennedy, and unlike the vision of lonely, selfish souls the protests invoke, Kennedy's life reminds us that we are not alone. He was not born alone; Rose Kennedy, his devoted mother, whose life played out here in this city of America's founding, bore him. His parents and, especially since he was the youngest, his sisters and brothers, raised him, a vital early safety net without which neither he nor any American could survive. The family, and the traditions of this noble state, Massachusetts, taught him the values of public service and community that are the touchstones of his legacy. When the time came for his family to enter into the public service for which they had been raised, they did not think their social obligation ended when they dropped a casserole at the house of a neighbor. They looked to our great nation, the United States of America, as the place where the most meaningful and effective efforts might be directed. They ran for Congress, for the Senate, for the Presidency, for good or ill. In those contests for public service and in the service that they rendered, Ted the most, of course, because he had the gift of time, they did everything in their power to manifest the collective possibilities inherent in the American dream -- for John Kennedy that we could start a corps for peace, for Robert that poverty and racism could be resisted and in the end defeated, for Teddy that the justice system could live up to its name and that the sick could be healed.
"Taken together, the legacy of all the Kennedy brothers is an old one, but one that bears remembering as strident voices demand we forget our communal ties. They believed, and I believe, that we are a community, not just any community but, as Ted Kennedy believed, in the centuries-old tradition of Puritan Massachusetts -- a chosen people, that America is a city on a hill, a beacon for all humanity. Let us take this sacred moment of his funeral to reconsecrate ourselves to that ideal."
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While I'm looking forward to the President laying out his health care principles and explaining exactly where he stands to the American people--si
No where do you mention his Catholic faith. The Gospel reading during the funeral should have been a pointed stick in the eyes of the conservati
i agree, obama dropped the ball on this one, it wasnt bad, but it wasnt great either...
lastly a eulogy is about the person one is eulogizing
I thought having the grandchild
If the President had engaged in politics the right would have a field day with it. I have avoided listening to or reading anything the right is saying, and for all I know they may be having a field day anyway. But I'd sure like to see them attack a bunch of innocent children who are grieving their grandfathe
The grandchild
The Pres. speech was appropriat
The more I see these opinions which lack deep strategic thinking, the more I am convinced that Obama is a real smart strategist
"a time when adversarie
If we are truly to be a beacon and example to all humanity in this country, then we should choose and work to be such - not just assume that we have been made such. The assumption that we deserve a position of leadership among humankind merely because we say a deity chose us just makes us look like we have an inflated sense of entitlemen
I'm not hating on religion here, but that "chosen people" stance has done far more damage throughout history than any other single idea. Time to let it die.
Didn't mean to rant. . .
Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly nice speech--bu
And presumptiv
had he done it any other way the GOP would have had a grand old time with it.
yet who can criticize the children, speaking the petitions of their patriarch as prayers with
everyone attending joining in with 'Lord hear our prayer'...
I thought it was brilliant.
No one could sit out, "Lord, hear our prayer". First class.
Teddy's life had true meaning.
Samuel Clements said : " Strive to live your life in such a manner that upon your passing even the Undertaker will cry . "
I agree Sam.