There is this old joke that keeps going through my head since hearing of Republican Scott Brown's taking of the late Ted Kennedy's senate seat - "If Ted Kennedy were alive today he would be turning over in his grave." The New York Times writes, "by a decisive margin, Mr. Brown defeated Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, who had been considered a prohibitive favorite to win just over a month ago after she easily won the Democratic primary."New Jersey was bad enough, but now Massachusetts? Even though this win does not mean "everything," it certainly means, "something." I can imagine the glee on the faces of personalities such as Palin, Limbaugh, and the assorted Fox News broadcasters.
I recall Ted Kennedy announcing his support for Obama that January day back in 2008. Senator Kennedy saw in Obama what had been missing in Democratic politics since the times of his brothers - John and Bobby Kennedy. President Obama has that skill - to be a mirror of what people are looking for. But, to quote an old Paul Simon song, "a man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest." What will happen now? Who knows? Will President Obama and fellow Democrats get more ballsy? I sure as hell hope so. Here is a snippet of that speech from the late Senator Kennedy from January 2008.
