Free Republic

Perhaps the most fitting tribute to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy came not from President Obama, who correctly called him one of the greatest senators in U.S. history, but from the man who lost last year's election: John McCain, the Arizona Republican, who was often the political polar opposite of his colleague from Massachusetts. Hours after Senator Kennedy lost his battle with a brain tumor late Tuesday, a tearful Mr. McCain called him the most effective member of the Senate - and nobody spoke to disagree. Both Mr. McCain and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) agreed that health-care reform would be...

The US White House has released a photograph of President Barack Obama's daughter Sasha sneaking up on her father as he works in the Oval Office. The image has drawn comparisons with the famous 1963 image of John F Kennedy Jnr playing underneath the Oval Office desk as his father reads documents. That picture helped create the image of "Camelot" associated with the Kennedys. Mr Obama has said being able to work and live at home is "one of the huge benefits of being president". The photograph, taken in early August and released through the official White House Flickr website,...

NEW YORK - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy wrote in a memoir being published this month that he made terrible decisions after the 1969 car crash that killed Mary Jo Kopechne, but said he was never romantically involved with her

September 3, 2009 Obama savours his own White House Camelot in photo homage to Kennedy Tim Reid in Washington [Pic in URL] It is a clear homage to perhaps the most iconic White House photograph. Almost 46 years after the world first saw two-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr playing under the Oval Office desk as his father worked, the White House has released a picture of Sasha Obama, 8, hiding behind a sofa as President Obama reads briefing papers at the same desk. According to the White House, Sasha is sneaking up on her father as he nears the end...

The last time many people heard Caroline Kennedy, she was a tentative, tongue-tied U.S. Senate hopeful from New York. But Friday night - as Kennedy remembered her late uncle at a presidential library in Boston that bears her slain father's name - she was an eloquent, loving niece, and perhaps the last living link to the age of Camelot. Poised despite her grief, Caroline recalled the many times her uncle offered her words of support - and similar encouragement to his other 27 other nieces and nephews. She recalled on the night he died looking out at the ocean he...

Vicki Kennedy should be considered as a potential interim replacement for her late husband in the U.S. Senate, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said Sunday. "I think Vicki ought to be considered," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said on CNN's "State of the Union." "She's a very brilliant lawyer. She's a very solid individual," Hatch said of Sen. Edward Kennedy's widow. "She certainly made a difference in Ted's life, let me tell you. And I have nothing but great respect for her." Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), a close friend of Ted Kennedy, said he too would be supportive of...

If the Kennedy Era in American politics is over, instead of just taking a breather (Joseph P. Kennedy II has been mentioned as a possible candidate for his Uncle Ted's Senate seat), what did it mean? Character failings are not irrelevant to how well one serves the public; it was because of Chappaquiddick that Ted Kennedy was defeated by Robert Byrd as Democratic party whip in the Senate in 1971. But defenders are so quick to dismiss these issues, so let's stick to policy instead, and see if the liberal argument that Kennedy's political work made up for his personal...

Is Ted still dead? Poor guy, he died. Here's a clue for everyone on the entire planet - WE ALL DIE! The question amongst men of honor is how we lived our lives. Personally, I believe the Ted Kennedy was a man of dis-honor, and a socialist who has done more harm to our Constitutional principles than any other politician in my lifetime of some 60 years. And guess what? I get to say, I hated the man when he was alive and still hate him being dead!. What is with people who can despise a person during their living...

When one first looks at this article in The New Republic speculating about if Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick Kennedy, could grow into a great political leader, you wouldn't be blamed for thinking it was a satirical story written by either Scott Ott or some other humor columnist. However the name of the author is Jason Zengerle and he is being dead serious which actually makes it funnier than any intentionally satirical story could be. What makes Zengerle's article especially funny is that he provides absolutely no proof that Patrick Kennedy displays the slightest bit of political leadership. In fact, Zengerle...

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' half brother, who as a boy carried her wedding train up the aisle but later became estranged from her, has been indicted on felony charges of possessing child pornography in Oregon. James Auchincloss was indicted Tuesday by a Jackson County grand jury in Medford on 25 counts of encouraging child sexual abuse resulting from the alleged duplication and possession of child pornography. Auchincloss, 62, did not immediately return messages left on his home phone and cell phone. His attorney, Carl Caplan of Medford, also did not return phone messages. Deputy District Attorney David Hoppe said a plea...

This post was written by Peter Collier. When I traveled briefly with the press corps covering Ted Kennedy’s abortive run against Jimmy Carter for the 1980 Democratic Presidential nomination, one of the stops was in Los Angeles for a campaign speech to MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The Kennedys had considered this constituency to be in their pocket since 1968, when Bobby made Caesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers part of his coalition and cause. On this particular evening in 1980, therefore, Teddy talked to his Hispanic audience as if they were family. At one...

As the nation mourns Senator Edward M. Kennedy, we will again be reminded of his last major political alliance -- bringing Caroline, his shy niece, into the limelight to support Barack Obama. It was hoped that she would then follow in the Kennedy footsteps and make a push for the powerful Senate seat in New York. For a variety of reasons, she withdrew at the 11th hour. Dems embrace dynasty politics - Charles Mahtesian - Politico.com But as the last surviving Kennedy brother, Uncle Ted still had plans for Caroline, an ambassadorship was whispered. Then came the news: "Vatican sources...

Senator Ted Kennedy has died.

Sen. Edward Moore Kennedy, the youngest Kennedy brother who was left to head the family's political dynasty after his brothers President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, has died at age 77.

From the time he was a child, John F. Kennedy Jr. captured America's attention. The country watched the prince of Camelot grow from young boy to idealistic lawyer and then a loving husband. Though he was under the constant heat of the spotlight, Kennedy always fought for normalcy in his life. Few people knew the junior Kennedy better than Rose Marie Terenzio, his personal assistant and confidant. Their friendship blossomed through a chance encounter. Kennedy was starting George magazine and renting office space in Manhattan. The political magazine shared the same floor as the public relations company where Terenzio worked....

SO . . . you'll remember I reported Westchester resident Kerry Ken nedy, previous prior former An drew Cuomo ex-wife, might run for lieutenant governor and that this would 100 percent kill Andrew's run for governor and at least 22 percent repair David Paterson's kerfuffle with the Kennedys following Caroline's aborted hustle. Well, kiddies, mother told you this a week ago. Not one peep in rebuttal from Kamp Kennedy. No denial. No, "She's an ass and doesn't know what she's braying about." In fact, now I'm being told that a force behind it is Robert Kennedy Jr.

High up in the clouds, John F. Kennedy Jr. discovered a serenity and peace that often eluded him on the ground. "The sunset is so beautiful," he radioed his flight instructor on his first solo flight in 1996. "Can I go around one more time?" Permission was granted. And for the next three years, Kennedy escaped the burden of being the son of a beloved slain President, the burden of being a sex symbol hounded by paparazzi, by soaring above it all. But tragedy is the Kennedy family curse. In retrospect, it no longer shocks or surprises that the thing...

Rep. Patrick Kennedy has returned to the House to cast a vote on a major global warming bill. Discuss COMMENTS (0) Kennedy spokeswoman Kerrie Bennett said Friday the congressman had left the medical facility where he was receiving treatment because he wanted to vote on an issue he considers important for Rhode Island as well as the nation. Kennedy was expected to return to the undisclosed facility after the vote to continue his treatment.

The first couple took full advantage of the cool spring night. After a date night out on Saturday evening, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama decided to take a stroll when their motorcade arrived back at the White House. So they began walking on the driveway of the White House South Lawn while holding hands. First they passed the West Wing, then their children's swing set. They kept walking, swinging their hands together. There were no Secret Service agents right behind them - the agents stood off... (read the story for more) As the Obamas walked behind shrubbery...

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are unleashing a bipartisan charm offensive and exploiting every square inch of their new home to make friends and influence rivals. According to Politico, since moving into their new digs, the first couple has hosted a half-dozen gatherings - from bipartisan cocktail receptions to a public open house to the more intimate Super Bowl party two Sundays ago - ending many of their days past midnight. Most recently, on Wednesday, the Obamas opened the White House doors to House caucus leaders from the moderate Blue Dog Democrats and the Congressional Black Caucus....

Gov. David Paterson isn't off the hook for the leaks about Caroline Kennedy. A government watchdog is demanding that the state's Commission on Public Integrity investigate, just as it did for leaks during Eliot Spitzer's "Troopergate" case. Paterson may be hesitant to cast stones at the members of his staff responsible for anonymous attacks on Caroline Kennedy after she withdrew from Senate contention, but public watchdogs are ready to throw stones at him. Should An Investigation Be Launched? Comment On This Story. Government reform advocate Blair Horner of the New York Public Research Interest Group wants the Commission on Public...

In a stunning revelation, a source close to Gov. David Paterson insisted this afternoon that the governor "had no intention" of picking Caroline Kennedy for New York's vacant senate seat - because she was "mired" in an issue over taxes, her nanny and possibly her marriage.

Ann Coulter attacks Michelle Obama's style Conservative dervish Ann Coulter -- a woman with a penchant for peroxide and very short little black dresses -- has shredded Michelle Obama's style. The N.Y. Daily News reports that Coulter's upcoming book, "Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and their Assault on America," includes this take on the future first lady's look: Her obvious imitation of Jackie O's style - the flipped-under hair, the sleeveless A-line dresses, the short strands of fake pearls - would have been laughable if done by anyone other than a media-designated saint.

Barack Obama will call on Americans to replace the "anything goes" culture of recent years with a new in his inaugural address. Aides said the President-Elect's first words as president would hark back to John F Kennedy's plea to "ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country". Rahm Emanuel, who will be chief of staff in the new White House, said: "We need that culture of responsibility, not just to be asked of the American people, but its leaders must also lead by example." The address was mostly written a...

Senator Ted Kennedy made an important political endorsement Tuesday. Massachusetts' Senior Senator endorsed the Portugese water dog as the perfect pet for the nation's new first family. President-elect Barack Obama made a very public promise to daughters Sasha and Malia the night he was elected. "You have earned the puppy that is coming with us to the White House," he said during his speech. Ever since, speculation has abounded on what type of dog the first family would choose. The Obama's have said they need a dog that is hypoallergenic, because daughter Malia has allergies. "A Portuguese water dog is...

When community groups and the Board of Education were caught in an acrimonious dispute over an arts program, education officials brought in a fixer: Caroline Kennedy. The daughter of a president and niece of two senators listened attentively, asked probing questions and proposed various scenarios to resolve the dispute. Under her prompting, a compromise was reached. "People were pushing themselves back from the table and folding their arms," recalled Stephanie Dua, chief executive officer of the Fund for Public Schools. "She was very good at defusing the situation. ... She has a very easy style about her but she's very...

With her Camelot pedigree and Park Avenue address, Caroline Kennedy is not exactly the average American woman. But many women identify with her impulse to enter the work force after two decades of child rearing. Kennedy's bid for the Senate has reignited the "mommy wars" between mothers with careers and those who take a break from paid employment. Like Kennedy, many women face resentment when they return to the work force after raising kids and doing volunteer work. "She's a Kennedy, but she's a lot like us," was the headline of a Dec. 28 column by Anne Glusker in The...

Neither Caroline Kennedy nor Washington, DC can solve New York’s fiscal crisis. Last week, New York deputy mayor Kevin Sheekey argued that Caroline Kennedy, a Barack Obama supporter during the presidential race, was New York’s only acceptable choice to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. “If Caroline is appointed, Barack Obama has to come to New York as his first political trip to . . . support her and, in turn, New York,” Sheekey said. What kind of “support” would that be? “New York has a huge budget gap,” Sheekey explained. “That means giant cuts. . . . We need...

Caroline Kennedy Will Be Senator, Officials Tell AP @ 2:12 pm by Walter Alarkon Caroline Kennedy will be named the successor in the Senate to Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), according to unnamed officials who spoke to the Associated Press. The AP also spoke to two people close to Gov. David Paterson (D-N.Y.) who said that he is still looking for his choice but that they believe Kennedy will be the pick. Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, has been lobbying for the seat since last month. Paterson's choice will serve until 2010, when voters will choose someone to...

Rejoice, Ladies !! "The Divine Caroline" may soon be displaying her superior fashion sense in the US Senate !

What with all the time spent this year by women and journalists and everyone else obsessing over Sarah Palin's looks and lipsticks and wardrobe, it's hard to believe the absolute dearth of women journalists obsessing over Caroline Kennedy's physical appearance, makeup choices, and hairstyles. Why are her highlights not front-page news? I haven't a clue. Perhaps people are more interested in focusing on her politics. Just kidding! (See also: Tattoogate.) In either case, Fashionista points to Christopher Andersen's hammily titled biography of the Lady Kennedy, Sweet Caroline: Last Child of Camelot, which reveals Caroline's refusal to become Jackie O. 2.0....

It appears Obamamania has not only infiltrated British newspapers, but so has Palin Derangement Syndrome...even in the fashion section. Is there any safe place a person can go these days without being told Michelle Obama is "a goddess [who] stepped onto the world stage and made it her own...married to someone who is, frankly, a sex god," or that Sarah Palin is the "worst dressed" woman in the world "who may have spent $150,000 on six suits but still resembled a hopelessly sexless, up [sic] hockey mom who buys all her clothes from Wal-Mart?"

Amid all the recent buzz about Caroline Kennedy's bid for a U.S. Senate seat, there has been a great deal of talk about her connections, her power, her wealth. But the way I see it, if you strip away the glamour, the name and the money, then Caroline is . . . me. And many of my friends. Maybe even you. If, that is, you happen to be a midlife woman raising kids and returning -- or thinking of returning, or hoping one day to return -- to the full-time workforce.

NEW YORK — At this time last year, Caroline Kennedy was promoting A Family Christmas, a collection of essays that featured the memory of her father letting her use the White House switchboard to call Santa. This year, after warily stepping into the political free-for-all for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, Ms. Kennedy's activities during the holiday season included fending off requests to disclose financial information.

For many years, Caroline Kennedy appeared to have an immunity to politics, rare among her family. Why the reluctance? Wasn't the whole point of being a Kennedy to hold some kind of elected office and, anyway, what would happen to all those governorships, congressional seats and Capitol Hill lunch tables if the Kennedys gave up filling them? Caroline, the only surviving child of the late President John F Kennedy, was resolute. Uncomfortable in the public eye, and doubtful of her appetite for the rough and tumble, she preferred the arty, affluent world she could see from the windows of her...

Caroline Kennedy opened a new stage in the evolution of the Kennedy Cult when she announced that she wants to be appointed U.S. senator from New York to fill out Hillary Clinton’s term. For 48 years, the Kennedys have treated American politics as family property, like a castle European aristocrats pass on from one clan member to another. Caroline, as John F. Kennedy’s daughter, believes she’s entitled. Kennedys think that Kennedys should have whatever they desire.

<p>During the cold war, JFK claimed to have gone to the moon. He got congress to spend billions on his moon landing and pretended america landed there, convincing congress to give him billions, the fakeness of the landing is well documented.</p>

Ben Smith floats the balloon ... If Caroline Kennedy is appointed to the Senate and wins reelection, and Barack Obama serves two successful terms, Senator Kennedy from New York, into her second term after two high-profile campaigns, having amazed the pundits with her ability to step on and off charter jets in Rochester and be friendly to members of the City Council, will be an automatic top-tier candidate for president. ...and Allahpundit responds: Sounds good, but if we do it, let's do it the right way -- by electing a completely different Democratic ticket, having the VP resign and Caroline...

When a powerful labor leader picked up the phone this week, he was surprised to hear the voice of a top aide to New York City Mayor Bloomberg. The aide made it clear: Caroline Kennedy [lose the Schlossberg] is going to be senator, "so get on board now!" Buttons are being pushed and strings pulled by the mayor, the NEW YORK TIMES plans to front on Thursday. The involvement has helped immediately elevate and coordinate the debut of Kennedy, who lacked an experienced political staff of her own. But now, it is setting off an intense backlash among Democrats. Developing...

Caroline Kennedy's interest in the U.S. Senate seat now held by Hillary Clinton is making for lots of talk, about whether having the Kennedy name is enough to qualify her for the position. Kennedy, who's 51, has been a very private person until her very public support of Barack Obama, and this week she's saying publicly she's interested. Reaction here in Syracuse: Outgoing Congressman Jim Walsh, honored by the Onondaga County Legislature for 20 years of service to the area, says 'Well, I think you have to earn this." He points to Clinton's tenure and asks 'Why did she come...

What really draws me to the notion of Caroline as senator, though, is the modern-fairy-tale quality of it all. Like many women my age -- I'm a few months younger than she -- Caroline has always been part of my consciousness: The lucky little girl with a pony and an impossibly handsome father. The stoic little girl holding her mother's hand at her father's funeral. The sheltered girl, whisked away from a still-grieving country by a mother trying to shield her from prying eyes. In this fairy tale, Caroline is our tragic national princess. She is not locked away in...

IN 1992, David Halberstam wrote a new introduction for the 20th-anniversary edition of “The Best and the Brightest,” his classic history of the hubristic J.F.K. team that would ultimately mire America in Vietnam. He noted that the book’s title had entered the language, but not quite as he had hoped. “It is often misused,” he wrote, “failing to carry the tone or irony that the original intended.” In the Obama transition, our Clinton-fixated political culture has been hyperventilating mainly over the national security team, but that’s not what gives me pause. Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates were both wrong about...

Are you looking for hard hitting, serious journalism? Don't turn to the syndicated "newsmagazines" like Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, or The Insider (not that anyone ever did, of course). They are apparently admitting right up front that they have every intention of pumping up the Obama mythos by treating him "like royalty." TV Week is reporting that all the so-called "newsmagazines" (a misnomer for sure as tabloid spectacles are more to the truth of the matter) are going to try and fuel a ratings bump by promulgating Obamalot in a direct emulation of JFK's mythical "Camelot" years in office --...

Barack Obama’s election as president is fueling ratings among syndicated television newsmagazine shows—and they are returning the favor. It’s a symbiosis in which shows such as “Access Hollywood” and “Entertainment Tonight” cover the Obama family like royalty, bringing back a Camelot mythology to the White House. In return, they are enjoying a ratings bump with unexpected staying power. “We’re going to treat the Obamas like a Hollywood family,” said Rob Silverstein, executive producer of NBC Universal Television Distribution’s “Access Hollywood.”

At a recent Sunday brunch after church, my "sista friends" and I sat on the patio of a Los Angeles restaurant gabbing about the election of Barack Obama. Sure, we were caught up in the history of the moment. Most of us never thought we'd see an African-American president. But as a group of six black women in our 30s and 40s, we were equally excited by who is coming along with Obama to the White House—his wife, Michelle, and their two young daughters. We all praised—OK, maybe even envied—Michelle's double Ivy League pedigree, her style, her cool but friendly...

Ted Sorensen said Tuesday the election of Barack Obama makes him even more proud of his country and “more optimistic” about its future. The president-elect is “up to any task, any challenge,” Sorensen said. As one foreign statesman told him in a private letter, Sorensen said, “the day Obama walks into the White House, respect for the United States will rise immeasurably all over the world.” The election of the country’s first black president “says good things about America,” Sorensen said. Sorensen, who was chief adviser and speechwriter for President John F. Kennedy, was in Lincoln for a series of...

What was the dumbest reason you've heard people give to vote for Obama? Mine came from a 70-year male old who said, "I like the way he speaks. He sounds like Jack Kennedy."

Camelot or the return thereof...

READING Thurston Clarke's "The Last Campaign," a detailed account of RFK's 1968 run for president, I'm struck by similarities between back then and now. In style, message and even some language, Bobby Kennedy's campaign shows some resemblance to Barack Obama's. I'm not arguing that Obama's another Kennedy (all candidates, like all people, are different) or that "Obamalot" is coming to Washington

As the nation prepares for President-elect Barack Obama and his family to move into the White House, many Americans can't help but notice clear parallels between them and the family of the late President John F. Kennedy. His was a presidency filled with idealism, glamour and excitement, observed co-anchor Harry Smith on The Early Show Friday. "The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans," Kennedy said in his inaugural address. A young senator had been elected to lead his country. Now, 47 years later, the nation has chosen another young senator. "Change has come to America," Obama...