Edward M. Kennedy 1932-2009

I am considerably sadder today than I might have imagined at the passing of Senator Kennedy. Early this morning as I drove to work, I kept hearing more and more about what he\’d done, and it finally started to dawn on me that he\’d passed away overnight.

I didn\’t always agree with his politics, though I like to think that as I got older (and smarter?) I tended to agree with him more and more. I was raised in a decidedly Republican environment, registered in 1972 as an Independent, and voted my conscience. I voted for a wide variety of candidates: Republican, Democrat, Independent, and hell, even Libertarian for various offices over the years, but I think I always voted for Ted.

The scion of a privileged family, he could have taken a different path – an easier path. But he chose to take perhaps the most difficult path he could, one of dutiful public service. Lots of folks are saying today that it\’s just the way Ted was wired. That\’s what he was meant to do.

Ted was a stand-up guy. Others will do a much better job than I eulogizing him, but I just wanted to publicly acknowledge that no matter his methods, he was always trying to help out the Average Joe. And that\’s pretty admirable.