Colleagues Remember Ted Kennedy

(CBS)  CBS News' "Face the Nation" invited four congressional colleagues of Sen. Ted Kennedy to remember their friend, ally and sometimes opponent Sunday morning.

"The thing about Ted was that when the debate was over then he would put his arm around you and you moved on to the next issue," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent and anchor Bob Schieffer. "Not only didn't he hold a grudge, he would say, 'That was done. Now let's go on to the next battle.'"

Complete coverage of Sen. Kennedy's life and death

McCain added that "one of the fundamental reasons for his success was once he gave his word, that was never broken. I'd love to tell you that that's a very common thing. But unfortunately it's not as common as we would like."

CBS News Special Report: Ted Kennedy - The Last Brother

"He truly had a civil rights, anti-discrimination, human rights agenda that was deep in his heart," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who served on the Judiciary Committee with Kennedy. "He led the committee, I believe, in social issues."

Feinstein called Kennedy "a very dominant" member of the committee and a forceful leader.

One lawmaker who represented Massachusetts in Congress with Kennedy, Rep. Barney Frank (D), said Kennedy's preparedness, his political savvy and his understanding of the other side made him a formidable public servant.

"No one could attack him from the left," Frank said. "Ted Kennedy had the ability and the knowledge to get into a political situation and make the compromises."

Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, who worked with Kennedy on health-care legislation, told Schieffer, "He was a masterful politician and a very good friend."

Hatch echoed McCain's sentiment that Kennedy left political disputes on the floor.

"We fought each other most of the time, knock-down drag-out battles, but always after we would throw our arms around each other," Hatch remembered with a laugh.

"We did dozens and dozens of landmark pieces of legislation, and a lot of it was because he was able to acknowledge that he couldn't get everything that he wanted to do but if he worked with us he could get some things that were good," Hatch said.

Georgetown's Michael Eric Dyson called Kennedy "an awful powerful gust of wind" in President Obama's campaign last year. "This was a man of American royalty bestowing upon Barack Obama the mantle of that kind of liberal leadership."
By Michelle Levi

[hamiltoningrate]

I FEEL CHEATED -

I wish that CBS had confronted the Sen. for ONE LAST COME CLEAN INTERVIEW - with tears, confessionals- and letting us all move on, letting us know, "was it worth it " all these years ? Did he feel that the stain had been removed because he was a hard working champion, a "lion" a "progressive". Yet, after al that... He never apologized for being/doing wrong, for anything. I wish CBS had given him the chance to say, a simple "I am sorry."

Like a relative who died, keeping very dark secrets.....We feel cheated that he NEVER CAME CLEAN.

By the media over adulation, as sweet as it was telling... we are all ... like some back woods people, with a baby buried in the front yard, that no body talks about, but the unmentioned is simmering below all that takes place. we look out the window, and wonder what kind of person could do what he did, but pretend that it never happened, and set his life to a music that we did not all hear.

Sadly for all , I wish CBS had the nerve to have asked those tough questions, long ago... just as the Senator had grilled so many he felt had "done wrong" without hesitation, or apparently any sense of what everyone in the room was thinking about "his nerve" to do so.

Perhaps it was out of respect for his truly missed older brothers, that the media decided to forget it's heavy mandate in a democracy. I think the Senator would have understood.

May he RIP.

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The late Senator Edward Kennedy was truly a great America.

Congress should come together to enact meaningful health insurance reform to include a public option as a memorial to this great man -- honored statesman and great American.

"THE SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM ACT OF 2009"