Regardless of politics and ideology, one must respect the many ordeals and trials faced and overcome by Senator Ted Kennedy.  He was clearly a flawed person, as are we all.  Additionally, he sustained the scorn of many of his fellow citizens, perhaps justified, over actions in his earlier years.  Nevertheless, in the midst of this great debate on the future of health care in America, is would be impossible not to acknowledge his longtime interest in and support of expanding health care opportunities for Americans.  For that he will be long remembered . . . obi jo and jomaxx

Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate, died Tuesday night. He was 77.   Mr. Kennedy, a disciplined liberal lawmaker with a sometimes-stormy personal life, knew triumph and tragedy during his decades near the center of American political history.  Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the brother of John and Robert Kennedy who came to be known as the lion of the Senate in his own right, died of brain cancer at on Tuesday.

Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies – http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

Edward M. Kennedy Dies at 77: Official Statements – http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/edward-m-kennedy-dies-at-77/?hp

Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/us/politics/27kennedy.html?_r=1

Lawmakers React to Sen. Ted Kennedy’s Death – http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/26/lawmakers-react-sen-ted-kennedys-death/