Posted on 08/26/2009 8:45:59 AM PDT by meandog
Edited on 08/26/2009 9:26:08 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
"Laura and I are saddened by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. We extend our condolences and prayers to Senator Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, and all of their family. Ted Kennedy spent more than half his life in the United States Senate. He was a man of passion who advocated fiercely for his convictions. I was pleased to work with Senator Kennedy on legislation to raise standards in public schools, reform immigration, and ensure dignity and fair treatment for Americans suffering from mental illness. In a life filled with trials, Ted Kennedy never gave in to self-pity or despair. He maintained his optimistic spirit, his sense of humor, and his faith in his fellow citizens. He loved his family and his country – and he served them until the end. He will be deeply missed."
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McCain's comments for comparison
My friend, Ted Kennedy, was famous before he was accomplished. But by the end of his life he had become irreplaceable in the institution he loved and in the affections of its members. He grew up in the long shadow of his brothers, but found a way to be useful to his country in ways that will outlast their accomplishments.
Many of his fellow senators, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, will note today that Ted was sincerely intent on finding enough common ground among us to make progress on the issues of our day, and toward that end he would work as hard and as modestly as any staffer. Many will recall his convivial nature, his humor, his thoughtfulness. We will praise as his greatest strength the integrity of his word. When he made a promise to you, he kept it, no matter what.
What is harder for us to express is the emptiness we will feel in the Senate in his absence. Even when we are all crowded in the chamber for a vote, engaged in dozens of separate conversations, it will seem a quiet and less interesting place, in the knowledge that his booming voice, fueled by his passion for his convictions, will never encourage or assail or impress us again.
I will miss him very much.
“Lie after lie after lie...” Remember that Bush?
Much too kind, Mr. President.
I won’t begrudge anything GWB said in his eulogy - except the part about Teddy loving his country.
Good statement. Thank you President Bush.
“In a life filled with trials, Ted Kennedy never gave in to self-pity or despair”
...couldn’t afford to! Didn’t want to draw attention to his being a murderer. I wish GWB would zip it. He sucked up to this pathetic excuse for a human being and then got “screwd and tatooed” by same. Along with the rest of us. Teddy was about Teddy. That’s all that needs to be said.
Thank goodness for disposable waste bin liners.
Kennedy smears President Bush and our troops on the US Senate floor:
He described the Iraq war as a fraud “made up in Texas” as part of political strategy — accused the President of the US of “telling lie, after lie, after lie”, in order to go to war in Iraq.
Kennedy smears Judge Alito...Mrs. Alito in tears:
“In suggesting that Samuel Alito had belonged to a racist conservative group, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy relied heavily on an essay published by the organization that sounded like a bigoted rant. The essay, titled ‘In Defense of Elitism.....But the magazine’s editor at the time says the article was pure satire, a send-up of what liberals think conservatives think. He added quote, ‘I think left-wing groups have been feeding Senator Kennedy snippets and he has been mindlessly reciting them,”
Sen. Edward Kennedy Smears the Nation
“On March 19, 2004, President Bush asked: ‘Who would prefer that Saddam’s torture chambers still be open?’ Shamefully, we now learn that Saddam’s torture chambers reopened under new management — U.S. management.”
A speech on the Senate floor, May 10, 2004.
Kennedy’s smear of Judge Bork on the US Senator floor:
“Robert Bork’s America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens’ doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is — and is often the only — protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy....”
Kennedy betrays President Reagan:
May 14, 1983 document from the KGB archives reveals that Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) reached out to the General Secretary of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party, Yuri Andropov, to propose a kind of public relations strategy to counter President Reagan’s defense policy initiatives toward the Soviet Union, policies that Kennedy felt were too aggressive.
Well done, Mr. President.
Classy. Something that’s in short supply in today’s world
Did you expect him to say “thank god the bastard is dead”.
Mr. Kennedy is knee deep in the cesspool of the healthcare problems in America. He was behind Medicare, Medicad, HMO’s and almost every expansion of government that Bush also supported.
And, who can forget that other Teddy fav...The torture chambers are are open under new management
In fear of being banned, I shall stop now.
Yes, very classy statement.
From the Desk of Future President Wally-Balls:
“Jeanette and I are indifferent about the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. We extend our middle fingers to Senator Kennedy’s wife, Vicki, and all of their family. Ted Kennedy spent more than half his life sucking from the public teet in the United States Senate. He was a man of evil intentions who advocated his vehement anti-Americanism with passion.
Fixed it!
“In a life filled with trials, Ted Kennedy never gave in to self-pity or despair”
Nope. Never mind the quickie call for a meeting with all his elite “advisers” in Aug. 1969 to assess the fallout and strategies to save his precious little political career.
That’s all he ever felt sorry for . . .himself.
Sorry, pet peeve of mine--you didn't leave it for them, even though you claim you did.
In private, yes.
If I were a public Official, I would issue this tissue of lies about Fat Teddy also.
It’s what they do.
In public they all say such nice BS’y words. But in private?
Bwaa-haa-haa.
George Bush is a class act, and a Christian.
God help us in our day, in the name of Jesus Your Son. Amen.
Barbara Bush taught George manners and gracious behavior.
President Bush is a gentleman always.
Well, if Teddy was right, then it’s still lie after lie after lie. That’s how I read it!
Bush lied with flies ...
There is a natural term limit ...
Only the good die young ... RIP Mary-Jo.
Former dictator Saddam Hussein on the death of Senator Kennedy: Welcome to Fire Lake. No swimming allowed.
I have been wondering what happened to W. After the inaug., it is like he dropped off the face of the earth. Cheney is still very much in the hunt, but W has been nowhere to be seen until now.
“I was pleased to work with Senator Kennedy on legislation to raise standards in public schools, reform immigration”
2 of the reasons America turned on the GOP.
I hope that Rush plays that unintelligible audio clip of ‘Old Kennedy’ endorsing Clinton.
"Come, you are a tedious fool. To the purpose."
Bush “class” barfalert :(
Gracious and classy.....as always.
Class, as always, and as it should be.
Can you blame him? He can't even issue a statement on someone's death without other people having a hissy fit.
BS!...here's what Bush 41 said:
Washington - Former president George HW Bush, a conservative Republican, early Wednesday paid tribute to senator Edward Kennedy, the so-called liberal lion of the Senate who died of cancer late Tuesday.
Bush's remarks were the first reaction from the presidential level to Kennedy's death ahead of US President Barack Obama, who received an early endorsement for the presidency from Kennedy.
"While we didn't see eye-to-eye on many political issues through the years, I always respected his steadfast public service," Bush said in a statement on WCVB broadcaster in Boston.
Note: There is nothing about being "pleased" to work with him on liberal projects such as NCLB or "immigration reform"!
The worst thing T Kennedy did was the change in immigration laws in 1965 that ended quotas and allowed the US to be overrun by relatives of immigrants from certain countries. it is marked as his “greatest achievement” he lied about its effect to get it passed, just like he tried with amnesty and healthcare a lying sob.
Again, W shows his class....would the Libs be as kind in the death of W? I think not!!!!
WTF ...Over? For 8 years the W-guy makes Calvin Coolidge look loquacious ... and now he's a chatty Cathy? Please, W, keep doing what you did in office and keep quiet. If people find out you really can talk, they're going to be angrier with you than ever.
That is very true. Both he and Sarah Palin showed more graciousness than I could have mustered.
Personally, I think that’s as it should be. He’s not throwing his former office around. He’s a private citizen again.
Well what does one expect from a Kennedy?
“He will be deeply missed.””
NOT!
I know it’s hard for you flying monkeys to let a thread go by without trashing George Bush.
Spare me!
He was EVIL throughout his career as well as a brazen hypocrite. Look how he lived. High on the hog! He was the liberal elite. I wouldn’t want to be where he may be NOW.
Have we heard from the Clintons yet?
I have serious issues with (and I great deal I respect about) GWB. But in fairness, Ronald Reagan would have issued a similarly-worded statement had this happened in 1984.
And the forced school busing.
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