Senator Ted Kennedy at the 2008 Democratic Convention - Passing the Torch

I am a Republican but I vote for the person, not the party so I listen to every politician I get a chance to hear. Tonight I waited with some trepidation and anticipation to see and hear Senator Ted Kennedy give a speech at the 2008 Democratic Convention. My first concern (as a retired nurse) was his health. We will get to that later. My second concern was for his politics. I do not always agree with him....but sometimes I do. The third concern was for how effective his speech might be in promoting Barack Obama.

Let's get to that part right away....Barack Obama....Well he essentially and effectively passed the torch from the Kennedy generation to the Obama generation. There was no hesitancy or ambivalence in his endorsement for Barack. He used words that called back the feelings we as a generation had when John Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy inspired us and called us into a coalition of fighters for the oppressed, the marginalized and the segregated. I felt that Senator Ted Kennedy's words and intent were on point and very much in tradition. I am not sure I agree with his endorsement of Barack Obama. I felt that he was sincere.

My concern about Senator Ted Kennedy's politics has to do with how far left he is. I can understand fighting like a demon for what you believe in. I admire Senator Ted Kennedy for his tenacity and single minded liberalism but I do not endorse liberalism wholeheartedly. I think environmentalism needs to be tempered with honesty and good science. I think choice needs to be made before another human life is involved. I think I can spend my own money more effectively for my needs than the government can. That being said I cannot afford health care, I do not make a "decent" wage and I have tried but failed to provide for my own retirement. So where does that leave me? Listening to Senator Ted Kennedy....with hope?....maybe. What might have happened if he had been President during the "Carter years"?

Senator Kennedy came on the stage with his wife gently guiding him or at least accompanying him. He chuckled readily and looked as if he were enjoying it. I was pleased to see the old lion looking so good, however; the Senator did not look as hale and hearty as I had hoped. He was pale, his hands shook badly, and he was gently assisted, or guided, by his wife, Vickie, by Carolyn Kennedy and others. He did not use the stool provided for him to sit on if he needed to during his speech. That was a sign of strength and determination. A very "Kennedy" approach to the speech was somewhat subdued due to the lack of forceful volume but I felt he did remarkably well considering his continuing fight against brain cancer.

Perhaps the most telling thing about the appearance of Senator Ted Kennedy was his concluding statement that the "dream will live on". It was the touch of the master passing the Kennedy torch. It gently referred to his own mortality and promised that the dream will not die with him.

All in all I would say Senator Ted Kennedy made a good showing tonight.