Bill Adler - The Wit and Wisdom of Ted Kennedy

WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR SENIOR researcher, John Peter Kaytrosh. Peggy Robins insight and editorial judgment were invaluable in putting this book together. Claire Adlers fast fingers helped us get the book done on time. Jeanne Welsh was instrumental in bringing this book into being, and Karen Adler made a very helpful suggestion as we got started. We appreciate Claiborne Hancocks foresight and hard work in getting this book done so swiftly. Without the help of numerous people at Pegasus, this book would never have found its way into your hands, and we would especially like to thank Maria Fernandez for interior design, Michael Fusco whose talent you see as the books cover, Phil Gaskill who noticed our typos and more, and Michael Levatino and Deirdre Dolan, who revealed to bookstores the wisdom of carrying The Wit and Wisdom of Ted Kennedy.

THE KENNEDY NAME HAS LONG BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH soaring words and inspirational utterances. When we think of President John F. Kennedy, we can hear his ringing call to serve: Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. When we think of Bobby Kennedy, we may remember him best by his bold vision for a better future: Some men see things as they are, and say Why?I dream of things that never were, and say, Why not?

These two lives were cut tragically short, but even so, they left words that will continue to inspire Americans for generations to come. We are more fortunate when it comes to the life of their youngest brother, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who was granted 77 years to make a difference with his life. The third-longest serving senator in U.S. history has had 46 years to address us in speeches, statements, and other prepared remarks, as well as informal comments and recorded conversations. When in front of a large crowd he was often a rousing orator, a stemwinder, but not all the quotations in this chapter were delivered in a booming voice from a podium; there are some that come across equally wellperhaps betterwhen the reader is alone in a quiet room.

It was always a pleasure to search for and find these nuggets. We listened to many hours of videotapes of speeches, read through essays, and combed through public statements, and so often found ourselves stopping to appreciate some felicitous phrase, some lilting combination of words that reminded us that he was more than a moving speaker: He was truly a fine wordsmith. Of course, we know that Senator Kennedy also employed some supremely talented speechwriters, but in the endas some of those speechwriters have noted in interviews about the experience of working with himthe choice of words was always his.

When it came to the music of the English language to move us to the heights, Senator Kennedy had perfect pitch.

The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die.

Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 1980

Let each of us, to the best of our ability, in our own day and generation, perform something worthy to be remembered. Let us give something back to America, in return for all it has given us.

Speech, March 1, 1976

I have seen throughout my life how we as a people can rise to a challenge, embrace change and renew our destiny.

Speech at Harvard, December 2008

If I can leave a single message with the younger generation, it is to lash yourself to the mast, like Ulysses, if you want to escape the siren calls of complacency and indifference.

Speech, June 4, 1978

Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. Ive seen it. Ive lived it. And we can do it again.

Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 2008

The commitment I seek is not to outworn views but to old values that will never wear out. Programs may sometimes become obsolete, but the ideal of fairness always endures. Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue.

Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 1980

It is true, as has been said on this floor, that prejudice exists in the minds and hearts of men. It cannot be eradicated by law. But I firmly believe a sense of fairness and good will also exists in the minds and hearts of men side by side with the prejudice; a sense of fairness and good will which shows itself so often in acts of charity and kindness toward others. This noble characteristic wants to come out. It wants to, and often does, win out against the prejudice. Law, expressing as it does the moral conscience of the community, can help it come out in every person, so in the end the prejudice will be dissolved.

from Kennedys first speech on
the Senate floor, April, 9, 1964

Our progressive vision is not just for Democrats or Republicans, for red states or blue states. Its a way forward for the nation as a wholeto a new prosperity and greater opportunity for alla vision not just of the country we can become, but of the country we must becomean America that embraces the values and aspirations of our people now, and for coming generations.

Address at the National Press Club,
Washington, DC,
January 12, 2005

We must insist that our children and our grandchildren shall inherit a land which they can truly call America the beautiful.

Democratic National Convention,
August 12, 1980

It is our moral duty to ensure our security but also to reflect our humanity. That is our calling. We should keep out those who would harm us, but welcome those who will contribute to America. We must protect our communities and our nation with laws that are just and fair. But we must also provide a path for honest, hardworking people to emerge from the shadows and earn the privilege of American citizenship.

National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast,
June 8, 2006

Since I was a boy, I have known the joy of sailing the waters off Cape Cod. And for all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.

Speech at Harvard, December 2008

A new American majority is ready to respond to our call for a revitalized American dreamgrounded firmly in our Constitution and in the endless adventure of lifting this nation to ever new heights of discovery, prosperity, progress, and service to all people and to all humanity.

Address to the National Press Club,
Washington, DC,
January 12, 2005

Traveling across the length and breadth of America, taking the measure of our people, you cannot help but come away with a sense that we can do the jobthat our problems are only human, and the solutions will be human, too; that America is a land whose people have the capacity to solve its problems many times over, if only we let them try.

Speech to the National Jaycees Convention,
Portland, OR, June 15, 1971

More than four decades ago, near this place [the Lincoln Memorial], Martin Luther King called on the nation to let freedom ring. Freedom did ringand freedom can ring again. It is time for Americans to lift their voices nowin pride for our immigrant past and in pride for our immigrant future.

I Stand With You Speech
at Immigration Rally,
April 10, 2006

Dont sacrifice your political convictions for the convenience of the hour.

As quoted by William Safire in his 1990 book,
Words of Wisdom: More Good Advice

There are some who seek to wreck the peace process. They are blinded by fear of a future they cannot imaginea future in which respect for differences is a healing and unifying force. They are driven by an anger that holds no respect for lifeeven for the lives of children. But a new spirit of hope is gaining momentum. It can banish the fear that blinds. It can conquer the anger that fuels the merchants of violence. We are building an irresistible force that can make the immovable object move.