Kennedy and the "Little Guy"

Massachusetts Voters Remember Senator as a Champion of the People

(CBS/ AP)  The world remembers Sen. Edward Kennedy for his passionate liberalism, legislative skill and stewardship of a political dynasty.

Kevin Larson recalls a McDonald's lunch.

A decade ago, Kennedy hosted Larson's 6- and 4-year-old sons to thank them for returning a lost diamond ring they had found at a playground. Larson remembers his boys bounding past a reception area filled with important people in suits to McDonald's meals Kennedy's staff had waiting for them in his office.

The graciousness Kennedy showed his family that day was repeated in the coming years in notes and Christmas cards.

"He never forgot the little guy," said Larson, who lives in the Boston suburb of Malden.

CBSNews.com's complete coverage of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's life and death

On Wednesday, the little guy remembered Kennedy, a day after he died of brain cancer.

Outside Massachusetts, Kennedy was loved and hated for the national causes he championed, sometimes with thunderous intensity. But state residents also knew Kennedy for his careful tending to constituents, whether it was his calls to each family who lost someone on Sept. 11, help with State Department bureaucracy for a troubled immigrant, or a handwritten note.

"He got the job done," Boston Mayor, and Kennedy friend, Tom Menino told CBS' "The Early Show" Thursday. Menino listed causes such as expanding health care and raising the minimum wage as examples of Kennedy's support for everyday Massachusetts citizens.

"He knew how to deliver for us," Menino said.

CBS News Special Report: Ted Kennedy - The Last Brother

Kennedy took pride in working the hardest and longest on constituent services, so much so that his congressional colleagues could be criticized for paling in comparison.

"He really just truly wanted to reach out, and he just cared about us," said Army National Guard Sgt. Peter Damon, a helicopter mechanic Kennedy befriended after he lost both arms in an accident in Iraq. "I think that's his legacy."

Damon met Kennedy in 2003 while he was a patient at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C. The two spoke for an hour about everything from Damon's hometown of Brockton to the New England Patriots, but not his injury. Damon later learned Kennedy's son, Edward Jr., lost a leg to bone cancer as a child. "I think he knew not to dwell on it," Damon said.

Kennedy followed up with personal notes, surprise Patriots football tickets and years of consistent correspondence as he helped Damon navigate the veterans health care system. In 2007, Kennedy learned that Damon, an artist, had opened a gallery in his town of Middleborough and arranged with Sen. John Kerry to display some of his artwork in Senate offices.

Read more stories on Sen. Kennedy's life and death at CBSNews.com:

CBS News Special: Ted Kennedy - The Last Brother
Mourners Gather For Kennedy Memorial
Kennedy To Be Missed in Health Care Fight
Across the Pond, Irish Praise Hero Abroad

"He was just a true friend," Damon said. "We're from just two totally different worlds, but we were able to come together and talk as two long time friends."

Angela Sanfilippo of Gloucester first contacted Kennedy when she was 19 in the late 1960s. Her 2-year-old brother, Vincent, had Down syndrome and local doctors offered little hope to her parents, discouraging them with talk of a short, unfulfilling life.

Sanfilippo knew Kennedy's sister was mentally disabled, so she wrote the senator asking for help getting a more complete diagnosis. Kennedy arranged for Vincent to be examined at a Boston hospital, where doctors brought relief and hope to Sanfilippo's parents by discovering his condition was not as severe as they had been told. Vincent is 43 now, speaks two languages, and has a steady job.

Sanfilippo later worked with Kennedy as head of the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association, a fishing industry group. The senator called with condolences every time a fisherman was lost at sea, sent numerous personal notes just to keep in touch, and even shared a cheesesteak with Sanfilippo when they ran into each other at a Washington airport.

"Our relationship never ended," Sanfilippo said.

Lauren Stanford also had a deep relationship with Kennedy, even though she's just 17. They connected after Stanford, who has Type 1 diabetes, wrote all her congressmen asking for help searching for a cure. Kennedy responded. The Plymouth resident was 11 when she met the senator at his Washington office. He put the nervous girl at ease by first sending out his playful Portuguese water dogs.

They exchanged several letters, and Kennedy read one of them, about stem cell research, on the Senate floor. Then, in January 2007, he invited Stanford to Washington to speak about the issue in front of the Senate herself.

One of their last contacts came last year, when Kennedy called Stanford's cell phone while she was at field hockey practice, so she couldn't pick up. It turned out to be a lucky break, because Kennedy left a voice mail that she's saved. It starts, "Hi, it's Ted!"

"I think that he represents what a politician should be," Stanford said. "They shouldn't be scary and intimidating, they should be easy to connect to.

"It's so sad that he's gone," she added, "but he did a lot of good for the people before he left."

[jackp32]

Chappaquiddick Teddy helped the little guy.............by putting the screws to him. Let's rename the bridge that he went over with Mary Jo to the Ted Kennedy Memorial Bridge. A fitting memorial to his legacy.

[caliguy55]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, conservatism is the antithesis of life itself. Conservatism's philosophical basis is maintenance of the status quo. However, the very basis of life itself is change as dictated by everything from evolution and "natural selection" to the pragmatic considerations of survival itself. He who fails to adapt to the ever changing conditions of the environment and the more esoteric changes of the society in which he lives is doomed to failure. That is why conservatism never has been, and never will be, the dominant motivator of human behavior. On the other hand, the progressive philosophy which embraces change as good and necessary will always win out over conservatism in every aspect of human existence. Conservatives are dominated by ignorance and fear because the very composition of their being is self-defeating and doomed to extinction. But, progressives are always moving forward to the betterment of society because enlightenment and knowledge light their way.

[caliguy55]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, conservatism is the antithesis of life itself. Conservatism's philosophical basis is maintenance of the status quo. However, the very basis of life itself is change as dictated by everything from evolution and "natural selection" to the pragmatic considerations of survival itself. He who fails to adapt to the ever changing conditions of the environment and the more esoteric changes of the society in which he lives is doomed to failure. That is why conservatism never has been, and never will be, the dominant motivator of human behavior. On the other hand, the progressive philosophy which embraces change as good and necessary will always win out over conservatism in every aspect of human existence. Conservatives are dominated by ignorance and fear because the very composition of their being is self-defeating and doomed to extinction. But, progressives are always moving forward to the betterment of society because enlightenment and knowledge light their way.

[ivelost]

The lyin of the Senate. I agree we should name a bridge after him in honor.

[tomar01]

Rest in Peace Ted Kennedy.

[ivelost]

The great elder statesman/manslaughterer. Revisionist history at its best. He was no John Kennedy! We will again be reminded of Mary Jo. I wish again to pay my respects to Mary Jo. This country is turning into a sham, and (all) the News networks are a joke.
May he rest in peace.

[reveal5]

The fringe right just does not understand compassion. They just don't understand the concept. They just don't get it. Also, they just do not care. The right wingers just don't care that they just don't get it. As a matter of fact, they don't even know what "it" is. Compassion does not exist on the fringes of American society. The fringe right wing in America prefers to let Americans who are poorer and uninsured and unemployed just suffer and die. They want these Americans to die. That's the botton line. They want to continue to let uninsured Americans suffer and die. Period. Teddy Kennedy had another idea. Ted Kennedy chose life. Ted Kennedy chose to fight for medical care for all Americans as a right and not a priviledge. Ted Kennedy was not a right winger. Rest in peace Ted Kennedy. The history of America will remember the day of your passing as long as American history is written. Rest in peace Ted Kennedy. Rest in peace.

[reveal5]

Let Teddy Kennedy's name and legacy and vision and compassion for the down and out now be added to healthcare reform. Let Teddy Kennedy's model of steely spined adherence to his own values stiffen the spines of Democratic Congressional members. Let Teddy Kennedy's life long fight to bring medical care to poorer, uninsured, and uninsured Americans now become the true vision of Congressional democrats. Let Teddy Kennedy's vision of medical care for all Americans as a right and not a priviledge be brought to fruition. Let not Americans suffer and die for the greed of American corporations any longer. Let poorer and uninsured Americans get medical care they need to live. Let Teddy Kennedy's final victory be a victory for the poorer and uninsured to receive medical care in this richest country ever in the history of mankind. Let Teddy Kennedy be an iconic symbol for medical care reform for the good of poorer Americans and for the good of the largest economic powerhouse in history. Let Teddy Kennedy's name be added to healthcare reform legislation. Let an old Irishman out there somewhere smile and understand his legacy of humor, and wisdom, and song, and working across the aisle, and never holding a grudge, and steely spined adherence to compassion ...Let an old Irishman understand his spirit finally accomplished his most cherished goal. Medical care for all Americans as a matter of right and not of priviledge.

[reveal5]

Yo jxknowles, it would really help if you would identify to whom your comments are addressed, what with the double posting on this site.

[justsane-2009]

such hate. does it make you feel better? if so, how sad for you.

[woeisme1]

by User_00000000002945496845 August 27, 2009 7:32 AM EDT
All parties concerned need to come together and pass comprehensive healthcare reform as a memorial to the late Senator Ted Kennedy -- for what a honorable statesman and great American he was.
==============

Amen!

[WiseAsOwl]

Are you purposely trying to make folks sick???

[parisdakar]

I never understood how people who never have to worry about making a living, people who have the world at their feet from birth can possibly identify with the "little guy". I don't begrudge them for their upbringing, but I don't want to hear that they "understand" me. That's BS.

[parisdakar]

and don't call me "little guy".

[TheMasses2002]

This guys death has actually helped America.
More Senators should follow in his footsteps - and die.

[retiredgustav]

How Christian of you to think this way.

[hamiltoningrate]

Oh Please,
While his passing is sadly to be sure, please do not pretend that the Senator was hero to anyone other than the far LEFT.

And tell us, about the estate, and taxes. Is it TRUE that the Kennedy Family Trust is far off shore in Fiji ? Where they have never had to worry about paying " a fair share" ( as us little guys have to) upon death, and thus redistribute our hard earned , already taxed, minute fortunes ?

FAMILY TRUST

NO DEATH TAX

WHAT TAXES WILL BE PAYED ON HIS ESTATE ?

FIJI BANK ACCOUNTS ???

respectfully submitted, to CBS and the NATION

hamiltoningrate

[retiredgustav]

Just like the bush family fortune.

[hamiltoningrate]

RETIRE : I agree ! if it is so. All Americans should have a level playing field and play by the same fair rules. May he RIP.

[ActorKarlTheo]

Here in New England we have only Good Things to say about the Kennedys, They belong to us first, Then the World! RIP TEDDY!

[markrichard2]

I'm sorry to have to question some of this hagiography, but Kennedy's attitude to the 'little guy' reminded me of any aristocrat's condescending grace. No doubt he personally had, as many have testified, a gregarious Irish glad-handing and back-slapping personality with peers. But Kennedy turned cold toward the 'little guy' as a taxpayer or small business owner who wanted a shot a getting rich like the Joe Kennedy had; or who opposed racial brainstorms like busing and affirmative action which clearly discriminated against people who could not, as Kennedy did, afford to send their own children to private schools; or who was a crime victim or family member seeking justice from a dysfunctional court system.

Kennedy repeatedly advocated policies that made it more difficult for others to do what his family had done - trying to pull up the gangplank on further demand for ocean-front housing in Martha's Vineyard, you might say. (His opposition to an environmental group's wind farms out on the water, with the immortal protest "But that's where I sail!", gives away some of the double-track thinking of the liberal rich.) And the term 'little guy' unintentionally reinforces the class-discriminatory ideology of upper class, Martha's Vineyard politics - the 'haves' always love the lesser orders who know their place, and appreciate the turkeys that the lord of the manor sends them every Christmas. This paternalistic ideology has been a factor in the stagnation and relative decline of Massachusetts in terms of population and job-creation since the rise of the Kennedy family. Cause or effect, well, probably both. The tepid response of the voting public to continuing the Kennedy dynasty - most recently, in the fiasco of Caroline Kennedy's desire for an appointment to the U.S. Senate from New York - suggests that while there may be public fascination with the family along the lines of celebrity journalism, there is considerable skepticism of the way the politics represented by that family has evolved. News coverage, concentrated as always in the left-leaning precincts of the urban east, has not been very candid in looking at the Kennedy legacy objectively. Much has been made of Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama in 2008; it is forgotten that this was in the run-up to the Massachusetts Democratic primary, and that Obama lost that primary. Maybe the Royal Family is more popular with, and thus overrated by, the chattering classes?

[truthseeker60]

Teddy was a "cop-Out" as far as the direction of John and Bobby trying to end the rein of the Federal Reserve". (People still wonder why they were knocked off). Oh yeah just forget about that Mary Jo thing and having to go home to pass out before calling to report the Mis-hap.

[koyt2]

Pass out, that was amnesia, remember

[pepperwood2]

RIP TED - I agree with President Obama that you were the Greatest Senator of All Time. You will also be noted for being the brave & courageous Senator to stand up to those evil right wing conspirators.

Rest assured, that our agenda & history would have suffered greatly, if you didn't make it out alive, and were the one to have drowned, instead of Mary JO at Chappaquiddick. Your remarkable courage & quick thinking during that tragedy saved the day. You're A Great American Hero, Icon, An Example to all of Our Children & The People. We're so very proud of you!

[IrishWench01]

What a worthless use of space.

[John_Merritt]

The Kennedy's were blessed with many things in life, and realized they never would have attained without the help of the 'little guy'. Each Kennedy son and daughter was raised to believe that 'each man is created equal' but yet they were not afforded opportunity as others.

It was instilled to John, Robert and Teddy if they were to succeed in life that would be fine, but if they did it off the backs of the poor and disenfranchised (the little guy), that was not good.

After seeing his brothers lose their opportunity for change, Teddy kept going knowing full well he may never reach his goal. This meant he had to be tireless, passionate and relentless in his pursuits. That meant he had to take on the establishment. That meant he had to consider everyone friend, knowing full well that was not going to be the case.

The 'little guy' has always been the one's who made this country great. They are the very ones who build your homes, pave your roads, feed you when you dine with your family, make your bed and clean your rooms at those wonderful resorts and they get little for it. Teddy knew he could not change the world, but he determined to provide what he could to make others lives better.

The Kennedy sons and daughters may have been given much, but they have done much for all of us. Unlike some other 'elite' throughout this world they tried to make a difference and they did not flaunt their royalty with any aplomb other than 'let's continue to work for something better because we are not satisfied until everyone can get a chance to better themselves'.

I for one, am proud to have had the Kennedy's as 'our sons' because they provided a voice for those who could not speak or were afraid to. If more people would open the blinds (shades) of the windows of their heart; I believe everyone could do something that everyone could benefit from.

Thank you John, Robert and Teddy your parents raised some fine young men who had MANY faults, and did many things wrong. But at least they tried. The final chapter maybe what many people are determined by in this life. It will not be the money in your bank account, it will not be the homes and cars you possess. It will be the quality of the contributions you left behind and how you contributed in helping a 'brother and sister' find a better way.

I would like to think God 'loves team players'. I maybe wrong, but I don't believe I am. RIP Teddy. I wish I had known you personally. Maybe some day I will get a chance, God willing.

[BeckieBest]

Service to others really upsets neoclowns who only value selfishness.

[IrishWench01]

Excellent post John!

[DaBroiler]

by John_Merritt August 27, 2009 9:03 AM EDT

"It was instilled to John, Robert and Teddy if they were to succeed in life that would be fine, but if they did it off the backs of the poor and disenfranchised (the little guy), that was not good."

How ironic since most of the Kennedy fortune was made through illegal means.

[WiseAsOwl]

Let's not forget... He came to be famous for his generosity USING YOUR MONEY AND MY MONEY.. He was very good at taking money from those who work... and giving it to those who don't. He didn't invest any significant amount of his own money doing this... You'd think, if he wanted to really impress the people, he'd demand that the people got the same health care that he did.. May he rest in peace.... but, let's not make him something he wasn't....

[User_00000000002945496845]

All parties concerned need to come together and pass comprehensive healthcare reform as a memorial to the late Senator Ted Kennedy -- for what a honorable statesman and great American he was.

[skyk-2009]

I agree!! It's time to put aside all the vile lies, distortions and selfish interest and do what we should have done a LONG time ago.

[differnet]

It was the primary care of his life. God speed Teddy.

[BeckieBest]

tomadams

Speaking of murdering liars who are a total embarrassment, how many times did you vote for Bush?


lol!

[jxknowles]

We really need to stand on our own two feet do it for ourselves. That itself would have made him proud. Rest in peace.