I'm old enough that the Kennedys, the assassinations, and Chappaquidick were part of my childhood. I'm realistic enough that none of them, John, Bobby, or Ted, is my idea of a hero. Nevertheless, I was hit by the news of Ted Kennedy's death as though it were the death of somebody I'd known and to a certain extent depended on. Ted Kennedy, I think, was the perfect example of someone whose public persona was a better man than the private man. In public he was a reasoned, passionate, practical, progressive statesman. That was a voice we need, more now than ever, and that -- not the flawed private man, not the Kennedy legend -- is what I'll miss.