Teddy was smart calculating politician. Obama and his band of incompetents could have used him on the UHC stump. He would have never ever tried to tear off such a huge chunk of health care "reform” at once.

The irony is he probably would have died sooner had he been forced to take the government option he supported.

He championed the civil rights movement, spoke his mind, and showed up for work. Excellent – I can seriously respect that.

However, what I find a bit difficult to forget (yet admit it is not my place to forgive) is that he also…

1.…was caught red-handed cheating in college and expelled (yet allowed to return and finish later). Yes, we all do dumb things in our youth - but at this age I feel he was exhibiting a definite lack of character and spine on an adult level.

2.…joined the service during the Korean War and made sure daddy used his influence to land him a cush assignment in Paris. Then again, I’m sure the wine list was better there.

3.…was a habitual drunk driver – proven on many occasions most famously when he…

4.…drove his car off a bridge leaving the scene and his passenger for dead – and failed to report the accident for over 8 hours. Hey, a guy needs time to sober up and plan his strategy.

Anyone lacking his particular and very unique combination of fortune and family name would have been finished after committing number one. I know it, you know it and the slow chimp at the zoo knows it. If I said otherwise, I wouldn’t be respecting the dead - I’d simply be fueling this legendary farce. But, as I said in another review not long ago – we Americans do love our dead heroes…even if we have to patch them up with duct tape to get them to stand up straight. Condolences to all.

I share the same sentiments as most of my RIA brethren here on this review: I was (and I am) not a fan of the senior senator from Massachusetts. But I am not also going to deny the fact that he was one of the most effective legislators in our nation's history. Ted Kennedy was a liberal stalwart, and never made any bones about who he was and where he stood on any issue. Known for his ability at getting key legislation passed, one of Kennedy's trademarks was his ability to reach out to the other side of the aisle to reach compromises with even those who were often ideologically opposed to him. Usually accomplished as an orator, Kennedy would always be remembered for his speeches, from his firebrand rhetoric (when facing down a Presidential nominee like Judge Robert Bork) to his touching eulogy of his fallen brother, Robert.

For all his mistakes and failures as a person (and they were numerous), he was nevertheless a lion in the United States Senate- and perhaps the most effective legislator in the last fifty years.

May he rest in peace.

I never did like the guy. Still, he was iconic in a way and fun to crack on as a political whipping boy, and from all I've heard he actually worked hard, a rarity for politicians outside of campaigning anymore.

I'm not a big fan of dynasty families like the Kennedy or Bush families. They are like the Duggar family on crack cocaine or that Jon and Kate family. There is always some other person in the wings ala Jeb or RFK Jr. That being said, I think Ted Kennedy was a somewhat effective legislator. I think he "sometimes" had peoples' interests in mind but at times was a self-serving egomaniac. He could've resigned last year as he has been absent for numerous votes this year and last plus he wanted to change succession laws when it benefited him. Honestly, I think term limits are a good way to go. I could really care less about that Chappaquiddick stuff too. Anyway, I think I gave Billy Mays 4 Stars. Normally, I'd give any politician 2 or less but I'll give Kennedy a 3.

I was never a huge fan, although I didn't bear him the emnity that others did, and I have no doubt will be displayed in other reviews. Ted Kennedy always struck me as a fatally flawed man, destined to be compared unfavorably to his murdered brothers, and struggling with demons of his own, and of his own creation.

For all that, he was an effective Senator for most of his 47 years in office, and was one of the most consummate deal makers in Washington, showing considerable ability to find allies on both sides of the aisle. His legislative record is, whatever one may think of his politics, impressive, and he could never be accused of being a lazy or absentee legislator.

I certainly can't say I'll miss him much, but there is no denying that an icon has passed.

Ted Kennedy was an American icon. While much of the credit for this status can be attributed to his family, specifically his assassinated brothers, Kennedy still held himself up as a respected Senator. Although he was ridiculed by many throughout his career for the tragedy at Chappaquiddick and his apparent alcoholism, he continued to serve his constituents and prolong the Kennedy family's influence on American politics. His tenure in Washington was impressive, but its about time for a new face to represent Massachusetts.