Caroline Kennedy: We Have to Do What He Would Have Done

By: Kevin Hechtkopf
Topics: Ted Kennedy

Caroline Kennedy was the last speaker at the memorial for her uncle Ted Kennedy, held in Boston at the presidential library of her father John F. Kennedy.

"Now Teddy has become a part of history and we are the ones who will have to do all the things he would have done, for us, for each other and for our country," Kennedy said, who in many ways now becomes the senior member of the famous political family.

Caroline Kennedy's remarks we personal, talking about having to introduce Ted Kennedy at many events to "to audiences that already knew him."

She also talked about her uncle's relationship with her and all of her cousins and how he would help them through school and other endeavors.

"He believed in us - so we should believe in ourselves," she said.

CBSNews.com Special Report: Ted Kennedy

CBS News Special Report: Ted Kennedy - The Last Brother

And she talked he took all the children on historical sites to places like the monuments in Washington, Valley Forge, the Brooklyn Bridge and Bunker Hill.

"He made it something special," Caroline Kennedy said.

"How lucky I am to travel some of that journey with him," she added.

Read more on tonight's memorial service on CBSNews.com:

Family, Political Luminaries Honor Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy: We Have to Do What He Would Have Done
Biden: Kennedy's Legacy Is How We Look at One Another
McCain: Senate "Won't Be the Same" Without Kennedy
Kerry: Kennedy's Gift Was "Incomparable Love of Life"
Hatch: Kennedy and I Were Like "Fighting Brothers"
Dodd: "Teddy Changed Our America"
Rep. Joseph Kennedy: Teddy Was Always There
Photos: The Scene at the JFK Library Memorial
Photos: Speakers Pay Tribute to Kennedy

Kevin Hechtkopf
Kevin Hechtkopf is CBSNews.com's politics editor.
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by Paul_Revere September 11, 2009 11:08 AM EDT: We should do the same thing he has done?
I guess we should all go get drunk, murder a young girl, and then spend the rest of our lives capitulating to a system that killed our two brothers.
What a standard bearer he has been.; Reply to this comment


by pasmalltown August 30, 2009 6:22 PM EDT: by pyrogallic August 29, 2009 12:54 PM EDT -

"Teddy was abouut tyranny, no other way to put it."
___________________________

If "Teddy" was about tyranny and there's "no other way to put it", the absolute power you bestow upon him would seem to have been a mis-guided compliment to his longetivity. If "Teddy" was a tyrant, as you suggest, then obviously you believe that for 47 years no one could touch him because he had that "old absolute power". Ted may have been an egotist, but tyrant? nope. Your loosely worded comment about Ted and tyranny would have be surely censored if "Teddy" was the tyrant you speak of.....; Reply to this comment


by pasmalltown August 29, 2009 10:20 PM EDT: by robham777 August 29, 2009 5:48 PM EDT
"Sorry, I thought that the market dictated what compensation workers get. If the market is weakend by public policy then there is less demand for goods. Less demand for goods means fewer workers are needed. If fewer workers are needed then compensation for those workers goes down due to increased competition for those positions. I am glad that you were able to clarify that it is really just a measure of the employers generousity which dictates employee compensation."

_____________________________

Excellent textbook ONE-SIDED free market drivel, wonder how the former employees at Enron feel about your second and last sentences.....; Reply to this comment


by woeisme1 August 29, 2009 8:36 PM EDT: by pyrogallic August 29, 2009 12:54 PM EDT
woeisme1 - His four brothers all died in service to this country.
===============

Thank you. I stand corrected. I meant to say that "all four brothers". But I do hope that my one small error in that post does not make you write of the entirety of it like some want to write off Kennedy's entire life because of one accident he caused 4 decades ago.; Reply to this comment

by pepperwood2 August 29, 2009 3:01 PM EDT

Why wasn't Bill & Hillary given the opportunity to deliver their fond eulogy farewell to our beloved Ted. What happened? Am I missing something?

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by pasmalltown August 29, 2009 9:58 PM EDT: by pepperwood2 August 29, 2009 3:12 PM EDT -
"Why weren't Bill & Hillary's fond farewells to our beloved Ted posted anywhere? What happened? Am I missing something?" this from "Kennedy's Sons Remember a Passionate Father"

_______________________
You seem to be "stuck" on the same thought no matter which post you're commenting on, so here's my reply again.

by pasmalltown August 29, 2009 6:14 PM EDT
You asked for it, here it is:

"US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday mourned Edward Kennedy as a friend and mentor whose work lifted millions of Americans, putting aside friction over her presidential campaign.

Clinton called the senator, whose death at age 77 drew a curtain on half a century of leadership by the iconic liberal family, ?one of our nation?s finest statesmen and a dear friend.?

?His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of millions of Americans who are freer, healthier and more prosperous because of his efforts,? she said in a statement.

?As he said, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die,? she said, quoting from Kennedy?s celebrated concession speech when he lost his 1980 presidential bid.

The Kennedy family was close to Clinton and her husband Bill Clinton when he was president. Bill Clinton famously cited an early meeting with President John F. Kennedy, the senator?s late brother, as an inspiration to enter politics.

On Wednesday, Bill Clinton paid tribute to Kennedy as ?one of the most influential leaders of our time? praising his efforts to promote healthcare reform.

?His big heart, sharp mind, and boundless energy were gifts he gave to make our democracy a more perfect union,? the former president said in a statement." Wednesday, August 26, 2009
http://www.staunchusa.com/2009/08/hillary-clinton-passing-sen-ted-kennedy/

Here's another one from Rush:

"Limbaugh falsely claims Bill and Hillary "Nurse Ratchet" Clinton "have not said a word" about Kennedy
August 26, 2009 2:00 pm ET
Later corrects: "They've issued statements, but I'm not telling you what they said"

From the August 26 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

So I guess you'll just have to blame Rush for not telling you what to think.


by cs4466 August 29, 2009 2:41 PM EDT: Thank you, Senator! You were an inspiration to us all!

Well. Except those few that think Sarah Palin will be president in 2012. Perhaps they could apply for mental health counseling under the public option in health care reform.; Reply to this comment

by NinthSt78 August 29, 2009 2:14 PM EDT

Caroline has expressed very well the spirit Senator Kennedy liked to see in others. We must follow our heart to achieve our dreams even when it looks impossible.

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by robham777 August 29, 2009 2:17 PM EDT: It sounds like the only dreams being followed here are of the pip variety.

by tincup356 August 29, 2009 2:01 PM EDT

Wake up people this man was NOT a hero...he was just one more of the greedy rich people who have sucked off our government and twisted the way Washington works as opposed to HOW IT WAS DESIGNED TO WORK. All of this countries problems can be traced DIRECTLY back to lobby dollar tainted legislation by BOTH parties over the last 50 years,,,,,,The Kennedy family has been part of the great lobby conspiracy from the get go. Kennedy was not reelected for decades because he was a peoples champion, but rather because he was a champion of the lobby dollar.The greed that he and other lifetime party members were infected with spread quickly over the last 50 years,that greed has been fed by a steady flow of LOBBY DOLLARS to BOTH parties, insuring the fact that ONLY the candidates of the TWO major parties would be elected,,,and no matter which party won the election,,,,,corporate America was covered to get whatever legislation they wanted. To visualize heroes from EITHER party is delusional at best."We the People" have been blinded by the lies and promises of BOTH parties,,,,Many people laugh when someone uses the term conspiracy,,,,,,but with what is going on in plain sight right now,,,,it is VERY clear, such an event IS TAKING place right now.Where are congresses concerns and representation going right now,,,,,to the PEOPLE that voted them in ...OR,,,to the People who paid then BILLIONS in LOBBY DOLLARS last year? Just follow the money,,,,,and it is not headed towards "We the People". Congress is busy giving corporate America the GOLD MINE, while they give 'We the People", the SHAFT.

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by dwilson59 August 29, 2009 2:29 PM EDT: was Mary Jo Kopechne at the funeral or did Ted have her stay in the car?

by AK-47_Justice August 29, 2009 1:44 PM EDT

by nextgenman09
"We need younger people like Caroline in Congress. Flush out all of the tired old people with yesterday's ideas. Particularly the tired old people from the Fake Republican GOP."
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by swin5
"And replace them with whom?"
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ANYONE with a VISION for America's FUTURE, which would be anyone except nasty, hypocritical republican'ts living in the past, circa 1955, still FEARmongering about those commies hiding under their beds.

We have serious problems today that the moronic republican'ts fail to even acknowledge exist, much less even acknowledge they were a major part of pushing those very failed policies due to idiotic ideology.

It's only about GREED and POWER to these highly-partisan republican'ts, which means the miNOrity party of 'NO' will spew any LIE or DECEPTION in order to bankrupt America both morally and fiscally.

Time to send these "tired old people with yesterday's ideas" packing, since those republican'ts stuck in a time warp circa 1955, show exactly how much they want America to fail and remain in the past!

Well past time to move into the 21st century which the GOP hates!

Reply to this comment


by robham777 August 29, 2009 2:14 PM EDT: If the irony does not do it for you, how about this one. The left believes that all misery stems from the capitalistic system being forced upon them from the right. The right believes that the very same system is the only hope for people to advance their position in life. The left will control and regulate the system to ensure "fairness", and their policies in the name of fairness only contribute to the problem, prompting need for more regulation and control.


by jd2408 August 29, 2009 2:32 PM EDT: I have been an Independent for many years. There are many of us now and the numbers are growing every year. If you wonder why you have only to look at these posts. Both the Democrates and Republicans have become fanatical looney tunes. They seem to get their enjoyment by bashing each other instead of having an exchange of ideas and opinions. Its getting downright scary. It may not be too long when Independents will decide who wins or loses and not the political parties.


by pepperwood2 August 29, 2009 1:23 PM EDT: We have to do what he would have done!

Mary JO - Ted, I think I'm pregnant?
Ted - We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

"That was what it was like to have Teddy in your corner," - To be or not to be?; Reply to this comment