by two of Ted Kennedy's staff -- published in 2015 -- is one of my favorite books on the skills of the man I consider our country's greatest Senators. (I only saw him once in my life, as we sat in the same ringside row at Frazier vs Ali 2 on January 28, 1974.) As far as working in the Senate, he definitely had greater abilities that brothers John or Robert.
While I favored Kennedy's advocating for universal health care, while President Carter told him his bill had to have more room for private insurance companies, there were parts I became uncomfortable with. It's true that in the summer of '79, polls showed his numbers were twice Carter's, that didn't last as long, as he carried on to the Democratic National Convention. Still, it was a great speech.
I always like Gary Hart. He had a few personality quirks, and sometime people place more attention on those when the person is highly intelligent -- which he definitely was. It is less frequent that they are focused on with a more common politician of average smarts. They do seem to show up to the slug in office today. I think Hart had the potential to be a great president, though he engaged in some "monkey business" that knee-capped his '88 run. (Note: my brother the cynic had not shared my opinion of Hart. However, when pictures of Donna Rice were published, he told me that was the one thing he agreed with Hart on. I am glad to say he has matured into a solid Democrat today, and engages in grass roots activism.)
Jesse Jackson was always someone I had great respect for. My oldest brother also tended towards the Irish addiction to arguing every fu__ing thing, including his opion of Jesse. So I took him to see Jackson speak, and he made a 180 turn in his opinion. Now, in the 1988 primary, his show of strength -- including with red neck farmers who are prone to supporting republicans -- should have earned him a spot on the ticket. I was in the park in Boston when Jesse met with Dukakis.
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