Ask Not What You Can Do to Worship Me...

Sen. Ted (the swimmer) Kennedy has suggested that the University of Virginia spend $3.5 million on an oral history of...himself. Here's the Kerry Spot's take on this project:

My buddy Cam Edwards is not a fan of the University of Virginia's oral history project involving Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Wonder if any of Mary Jo Kopechne's relatives will be interviewed.
Also, you've gotta love this.

Kennedy, who suggested the project and will raise money to cover its $3.5 million cost, will sit for 75 hours of talks with the center, which also plans to interview more than 100 of the veteran senator's former and current staff members, colleagues from both sides of the aisle, family, and other notable figures who have known him.

Who the heck says "Hey, you know what you guys need? You need to interview me for 75 hours and let me tell my story.


I must respectfully dissent from that assessment. Ted Kennedy’s life story is definitely worth intense study by historians. The story of how the Democratic party could go from the policies of John F. Kennedy — confident in projecting American military force, staunchly hawkish against communism, supporting tax cuts, an attempt to garner support from every corner of the country — to the policies of Ted Kennedy — dovish suspicion of U.S. military force, appeasement to communists and other threats, tax and spend liberalism, and a blue state elitism that writes off large chunks of the South and Midwest — is the story of how the Democrats shrunk from the majority party to the minority party in this country over the last 45 years.

(Of course, I don’t know if any University of Virginia researcher will actually ask about that.)

Secondly, if you ever get a chance to visit Kennedy’s office on Capitol Hill, do so. The walls are covered with four decades worth of political memorabilia, and photos of the senator with every major world leader during that period. He’s been the highest-profile face of American liberalism since at least the Carter years. I may not agree with the man, but there’s no denying his impact on his party or this country.