Ted Kennedy Jr. Mulling Massachusetts Senate Bid

[frazzled]

5. If he decides to run, I will be almost glad that the position is being vacated

I am not a fan of political dynasties. But the Kennedys are perhaps a different story. Three brothers dead whose work was never finished, one who endured and did so much, if at times his path was not entirely a straight and easy one. It seems as if the work of that family is not really finished.

I recall vividly Ted Jr.'s speech at his father's funeral several years ago. He was eloquent, he was touching, he expressed the family's commitment to service and justice with incredible grace and a sense of commitment. He made me cry with the story of his father helping him walk up the hill in the snow after he lost his leg, as a boy, to bone cancer. He has the kind of Kennedy mystique and icompassion and ideals, it would seem, that many of his generation of the family really have not conveyed as eloquently.

He has worked behind the scenes on disability issues, something that would be much valued in the Senate, and in his role in the financial world, has focused on health care, like his father. That he has not sought public office before is probably a plus (for me at least): this isn't a member of the dynasty that jumped in just to keep the name going.

I'd be all for Ted Kennedy, Jr. ... at least from what I've seen at this moment. Watch his speech below. He seems like a natural communicator and a standard-bearer for his father's ideals.