Teddy Kennedy was released from the hospital today. He's in high spirits and is anxious to begin his treatment. The prognosis for most people with brain cancer is not good, but Teddy has always been a fighter, so there's no reason to believe he can't beat this. Plus, I don't want to offend anyone's religous sensibilities, but if there is/are God(s) out there, they are almost certainly in the Kennedy family's debt. There are few families that have given more, and inspired so many, that have received such a raw deal in return. For those of you that didn't read Ezra Klein's superb post that I linked to yesterday, I'd just like to quote him:
Kennedy is the most effective, dogged, determined, and skilled liberal legislator in the Senate. He's one of the few Senators who is genuinely irreplaceable, whose absence would degrade the nation's social policy, and thus the life chances and economic security of millions of its disadvantaged residents. Without Kennedy, we wouldn't have the Americans with Disabilities Act, S-CHIP, the Family and Medical Leave Act, or any of a hundred other crucial pieces of legislation. Without Kennedy, it's hard to imagine passing universal health care. Without Kennedy, it's hard to imagine passing paid family or medical leave. Without Kennedy, it's hard to imagine our country becoming more decent or just or humane.
Klein couldn't be more correct. Kennedy must survive this. The Republican party, to their credit, is being quite gracious and classy. But don't think they won't try to capitalize on the liberal lion's absence, whether it be temporary or permanent. Anyways, I'm going to take a break from blogging about politics until next week. It seems like it would be insensitive of me to engage in overt partisanship in a time like this. Moreover, it's perfectly clear that last night's primary results changed ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
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