Chappaquiddick: No Profile in Kennedy Courage
In the summer of 1969, consiglieres of the former John F. Kennedy administration -- Robert McNamara, Arthur Schlesinger and Ted Sorensen, among others -- convened in Hyannisport to write the apology that would save the young Sen. Ted Kennedy from himself.
Only days before, Kennedy had left the scene of a fatal car crash on the small island of Chappaquiddick on Martha's Vineyard, taking the life of 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne.The second-term senator waited nearly 10 hours to report the accident and offered virtually no explanation other than he "panicked."
"In those conclaves a speech, not unlike the 'Checkers' speech, was crafted for him to give on TV, throwing himself on the compassion of the American people to write and call in to keep him on the ticket," said Edward Klein, author of the new book, "Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Died."
"All of the Kennedy acolytes were there," Klein told ABCNews.com. "His wife Joan was not allowed downstairs. They didn't want her to hear it."
The details of the July 19 accident were salacious: a Regatta Weekend reunion party at a friend's cottage with all married men (except one) and six women -- the "boiler room girls" -- who had worked together on Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.
After a day of sailing and heavy drinking, Kennedy drove his black Oldsmobile sedan off a small wooden bridge into Poucho Pond, trapping Kopechne in seven feet of water.
Edward Moore Kennedy -- only 38 and up for re-election the following year-- had violated one of the cardinal rules in politics: "Never get caught with a dead girl or a live boy."
Some Never Forgave Kennedy for Chappaquiddick
Though his accomplishments are now legion, the ghost of Chappaquiddick has haunted Kennedy over a lifetime, raising questions about his honesty and courage. Some never forgave him.For some reason the Kennedy name carried such magic with the press that any indiscretion was either ignored or laughed off as "that's just Ted". The party never even punished him for the damage he did to Jimmy Carter's reelection chances in 1980 by running against the incumbent and then giving a petulant speech at the Democrat Convention that essentially chastised the party and suggested they'd nominated the wrong guy.
"Down through history we have had leaders who were flawed in their personal life and brilliant in public life," said Klein.
"How could he be one of most trusted members of Senate -- and they trusted his word as good as gold -- be an out of control frat boy most of his life?" he asked. "Life is complicated and people aren't as simple as we'd like them to be."
After that night, the word Chappaquiddick became synonymous with deception and abuse of power, and for decades until this day, each anniversary was dredged up in newspapers around the country.
He was able to get away with all sorts of behavior that would have ended the careers of anyone else. He cloaked himself in the mantle of Catholicism while routinely ignoring its teachings and precepts. He literally got away with murder.
His life was a case study in the dangers of creating a political superclass. Thankfully there don't seem to be Kennedy heirs capable of continuing the tradition. The age of Kennedy "magic" is over.
And not a moment too soon.
Nobody summed up Kennedy better than Paul Shanklin who writes song parodies for Rush Limbaugh. One of my favorites was "The Philanderer", sung by Paul as Ted Kennedy to the tune of "The Wanderer":
THE PHILANDERER
(Sung by a Ted Kennedy sound alike to the tune of "The Wanderer")
Oh, well I'm the type of guy who would never settle down
Where pretty girls are, well you know that I'm around
I kiss 'em and I love 'em 'cause to me they're all the same
I get so gosh darned hammerd I don't even know their names
'Cause I'm a philanderer, yes a philanderer
I sleep around, around, around, around, around
Well my views are on the left, got a bimbo on the right
Only God will know where I'll be passing out tonight
And if you want to ask me which girl I love the best
I'll tear open my shirt, got mother Rosie on my chest
'Cause I'm a philanderer, yes a philanderer
I sleep around, around, around, around, around
Oh yeah, I'm the type of guy, he likes to roam around
I'm never in one place, I wake from town to town
But when I find myself falling for some girl
I walk right in that car of mine and I take her for a whirl
Because I'm a Kennedy, yes I'm a Kennedy
The car skids round and round and round and round and round
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6 comments:
What a sad commentary for someone who has been held up as somebody great. Here is a man who was a life long alcoholic, got away with either murder or involuntary manslaughter (a woman), was for the killing of innocent unborn children. And he wanted Government Health Care for everyone which included ending life early for senior citizerns. Oh yeah, that's a real legacy to be proud of, isn't it.
Rick ,remember this Oliphant cartoon from the 1980 election.
Hilarious, but very rude to Mary Jo's family:
http://books.google.com/books?id=rFTU272ac5sC&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=oliphant+cater+kennedy+car&source=bl&ots=XS786cdsmb&sig=gwq2eYM5Wd-Q9oXMLRBlAt8KXvA&hl=en&ei=-nCVSrWNGM2tlAfWpuyvDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
http://brackenworld.blogspot.com/2009/08/in-memorandum.html
Good post. How we see it here over in the UK where Teddy's support for the IRA has resulted in a less than positive response on the BBC Have your Say.
Lew - I do remember that one. Very funny. There were a number of good editorial cartoons of Kennedy and Carter during the 1980 campaign.
Larry Stern, a reporter and editor for the Washington Post (d.8/1979) was once in a boat with George Lardner (another reporter) and two girls.
Larry successfully proved that the ferry crossing between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick could be swum in the dark by journalists as well as by senators.
This is terrible. How can we say that she died for a good cause???? Did I miss something? She was probably rapped and then left to drown and die. The Kennedys are notorious for coming such crimes. Hate to say it, but it’s true.
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