Ted Kennedy | The New York Observer

After Times Kennedy Leak, Hachette Hires Private Dick

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:47:25 -0400

All hell broke loose at the Hachette Book Group building last week when The New York Times published a story detailing some of the most newsworthy bits contained in the late Ted Kennedy’s forthcoming memoir, True Compass. A spokeswoman for the paper said Times reporters had purchased multiple copies of the book at a bookstore the day before, and, much to the chagrin of Twelve publisher Jonathan Karp and his publicity director, Cary Goldstein,...

Kennedy and Bloomberg: Doing Good

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:04:38 -0400

Talk of the so-called “upside” of the recession can sound like warm-and-fuzzy wishful thinking, but when it comes to increased volunteerism, New Yorkers, and all Americans, will soon find it easier to put their good intentions, and free time, into action. This week Ted Kennedy watched as Barack Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy National Service Act, which allocates federal resources—and over $5 billion between now and 2014—to grow the country’s community...

Public Service and Private Greed

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:48:48 -0400

On Election Day in 1960, my family placed a hand lettered sign in our living room window on East 59th street in Brooklyn that read “Kennedy for President”. A few months later, as a seven year old boy, I remember watching President Kennedy on our black and white television ask us to pledge “what we could do for our country”. It was a thrilling, inspiring moment. I think that...

Who's Going to Lick a Kennedy?

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:33:18 -0500

Whenever a Kennedy decides that it's time to use the family name to claim a political office for which there are numerous better-prepared aspirants, a taunt aimed at Ted Kennedy back in 1962, when the 30-year-old presidential brother ran with absolutely no qualifications for the U.S. Senate, comes to mind.

"Teddy," Massachusetts Attorney General Eddie McCormack, Mr. Kennedy's opponent in that year's Democratic primary, said, "if your name was Edward Moore instead of...

As Obama Recruits, the Senate Scramble Is Just Beginning

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:17:12 -0500

Officially, Valerie Jarrett appeared on this morning’s “Meet the Press” to discuss Barack Obama’s transition effort, which she is helping to lead. But hours later, her turn in the national spotlight took on added significance, with the news that Obama apparently wants Jarrett to succeed him in the United States Senate. In hindsight, she might have been auditioning.

Whether Jarrett, a Chicago lawyer and civic leader who has been closely involved in Obama’s entire political...

Sheldon Silver as New York's Ted Kennedy?

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:14:36 -0400

Dan Cantor, executive director of the labor-backed Working Families Party, makes the case in an email to supporters:

Sometimes the candidate who'll fight for working families is a challenger, sometimes it's an incumbent who's been doing it for years. Think about Teddy Kennedy if you want the best example of such a person at the national level.

Time after time, on the crucial fights of the day - Silver has been the most important...

Convention Speaker Report Card

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:53:50 -0400

A quick review of the most prominently featured speakers over the first three days of the Democratic convention – which ones helped, which ones hurt, and which ones did neither.

Monday: Ted Kennedy: Given what he and his family have meant to the party and the current state of his health, it would have been unthinkable for the Democrats not to have included him in...

Driven to Tears: Schumer Talks About 'Flawless' First Night

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:12:23 -0400

After Michelle Obama's remarks concluded the first day of the democratic Convention, I ran into Senator Chuck Schumer of New York waiting for a car outside the Pepsi center. He was very pleased with the way things had gone so far.

"Flawless," he said. "Michelle Obama—if 25 percent of Americans were watching that, we'll go up 5 percent in the polls. It was beautiful. I had tears in my eyes with Kennedy and I had...

Kennedy Gives the Convention Its First Highlight

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:09:38 -0400

After Caroline Kennedy addressed the Democratic convention on Monday night, the hall watched a movie about her uncle Ted Kennedy.

It showed Kennedy in black-and-white images as a young man pounding lecterns. It showed him in middle age hitting the campaign trail and then as a grandfather sailing with his children and grandchildren. Colleagues and family spoke about him, some in the past tense, and the film ended with Kennedy, only a few months...

Kennedy Shows Up

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:08:51 -0400

Ted Kennedy not only appeared on stage, he actually delivered a ten-minute address. Around 9:30, just after his niece Caroline spoke and a video tribute was broadcast, the 76-year-old Democratic lion, accompanied by his wife Vicki, stepped out from behind the video screen and onto the stage. A stool sat next to the podium, but Kennedy didn't need it.

He made no direct mention of his battle against an aggressive form of brain cancer, which...

The Kennedy Moment

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:34:46 -0400

The star of the opening night of the Democratic convention is supposed to be Michelle Obama, but it's a fairly safe bet that more people will be talking tomorrow about Ted Kennedy, who apparently will appear on stage after a video tribute is screened in prime-time tonight. The presence of the ailing Kennedy, diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer back in late...

Hillary Clinton as Ted Kennedy

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:28:26 -0400

The latest ad from John McCain's campaign seeks to widen and exploit lingering divisions among Democrats from this year's primary campaign with clips of Hillary Clinton taking shots Barack Obama. As Marc Ambinder points out, the exact message is rather convoluted and contradictory—the ad suggests Clinton was not offered the vice presidency because she spoke "the truth" about Obama during the primaries, but (as the McCain campaign notes in a separate ad) Joe Biden...

Bloomberg Praises No Child Left Behind

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:53:08 -0400

At an education forum in Florida, Michael Bloomberg praised John McCain for defending President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, and praised McCain and Barack Obama for supporting merit pay for teachers.

The legislation, which Ted Kennedy also worked on, has faced criticism.

The mayor's office sent over a copy of the prepared remarks Bloomberg was set to give to the Excellence in Action National Education Summit at Disney World. The mayor said:

"Instituting accountability standards...

Hillary Supporter Demonstration Against 'Disloyal' Kennedy and Dean

Tue, 27 May 2008 12:42:07 -0400

A Kos commenter notices that Ted Kennedy, among other leading Democrats, is denounced in strong terms in this post from a Clinton supporter on Hillary Clinton’s campaign web site.

The notice, posted earlier in the month for a demonstration at D.N.C. headquarters when the Rules and Bylaws Committee meets over the fate of the Florida and Michigan delegates, includes this line:

“IT SEEMS AS THOUGH Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid,...

The Trickle-Down Implications of Kennedy's Illness

Tue, 20 May 2008 17:41:26 -0400

Obviously, the political world is focused on the health of Ted Kennedy, and not the potential political implications of his diagnosis with a malignant brain tumor. And despite the grim prognosis, it’s worth noting that there is a precedent in the Senate for overcoming similar odds: In 1993, Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter was also diagnosed with a brain tumor and given weeks to live, but he’s still in office today. So there’s reason to hope...

Kennedy, Bush, and the Pennsylvania 'Lifeline'

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:45:33 -0400

The April 22 Pennsylvania primary breathed new life into an underdog presidential campaign that had been on the ropes, ensuring that the race would continue at least through the Indiana primary in two weeks and raising new concerns within the party about the front-runner’s ability to close the deal.

Yes, this is old news—28 years old, to be exact.

The above summation, a variation of which ran in countless newspapers the morning after Hillary Clinton’s ten-point...

Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and the Big-State Argument

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:32:37 -0500

Hillary Clinton’s thematic inspiration may come from Walter Mondale and his “I am ready to be president now” campaign of 1984, but the uphill climb to the nomination she now faces actually mirrors the challenge confronted by a different Democratic candidate from days gone by: Ted Kennedy in 1980.

Kennedy, in challenging President Jimmy Carter, won enough giant industrial states to keep afloat during the months-long primary season, even as Carter commanded the edge in...

Marcia Pappas, Kennedy-Basher, Heads to Ohio for Clinton

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:38:27 -0500

Marcia Pappas, the outspoken activist who called Ted Kennedy’s endorsement of Barack Obama a “betrayal" to women, is heading to Ohio Wednesday to campaign for Hillary Clinton.

Pappas, the president of the National Organization for Women-New York State, said her past comments won’t be an issue.

She told me this morning, “Certainly what I said drew attention temporarily, but I don’t think that it takes away from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. What we...

Rangel on the Role of Superdelegates

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:10:22 -0500

Charlie Rangel, a major supporter of Hillary Clinton, is joining Chuck Schumer and a growing number of superdelegates who think the Democratic nominee should reflect the popular vote, not the will of the superdelegates.

From Newsday:

"It's the people [who are] going to govern who selects our next candidate and not superdelegates," Rangel said last night at a dinner for the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators conference in Albany.

In Departure from New York State N.O.W., City Chapter Says Ted Kennedy Is a Friend

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:30:22 -0500

Earlier today the head of the New York State chapter of N.O.W. (the National Organization for Women), Marcia Pappas, sent out a statement describing Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama as “the ultimate betrayal." But the head of the New York City chapter of N.O.W. has a completely different take.

“He’s been a friend to N.O.W., a friend to women, and a friend to the women’s movement and has a long...

Why Obama Might Win Massachusetts

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:21:43 -0500

Ted Kennedy's direct link to Camelot means that his endorsement of Barack Obama will have national implications. But its impact might be most acute in Massachusetts, one of the largest states to vote on February 5 and a very winnable target for Obama.

Polling has been sporadic in Massachusetts, but Hillary Clinton has led -- often decisively -- in the surveys taken so far. But her margins may shrink as the state's electorate focuses more...

Today's Kennedy Endorsements: Obama 2, Clinton 1

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:10:25 -0500

On the heels of an endorsement for Barack Obama from Caroline Kennedy and the news that Ted Kennedy is going to endorse Obama tomorrow, the Clinton campaign released this statement of endorsement from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, former Lt. Governor of Maryland:
“I respect Caroline and Teddy's decision but I have made a different choice. While I admire Senator Obama greatly, I have known Hillary Clinton for over 25 years and have seen first...

Inside the Kennedy Auction

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:29:11 -0500

Senator Edward Kennedy told at least one publisher that he will address the Chappaquiddick incident in his forthcoming memoirs, according to a source who took a meeting with Mr. Kennedy about his book this fall and participated in the auction that ended last week.

“He said he’d talk about Chappaquiddick. What he’d say about it, he didn’t say. It was enough for him to say the words, you know what I mean?”...

Obama Offers Way Out of Dean, Hart and Kennedy Trap

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:57:38 -0500

Barack Obama is on the cusp of pulling off what no one in his party has achieved for years.

If recent polls, together with the crowds at his events, are anything to go by, he is simultaneously appealing to strident Democratic activists and seducing floating voters and independents. The combination, if it proves durable, is electoral gold dust.

The recent history of the Democratic Party is littered with compelling...

Source: Nine Bidders Were After Kennedy Book

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:12:49 -0500

The Times reported this morning that Sen. Ted Kennedy's autobiography sold to Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group USA, for more than $8 million. The deal was brokered by Bob Barnett, the D.C. lawyer who recently sold Tony Blair's memoirs to Knopf for around $9 million.

A publishing industry source involved in the six-day Kennedy auction told the Observer that nine publishers were seriously interested in acquiring the book and that almost...