But (sniffle) now that he's gone, what shall the nation do without him?

Plenty.

For starters, let's throw off all that phony "Camelot" pretentiousness, and realistically evaluate Kennedy's half-century effort as America's "champion the underdog."

First and foremost, Ted Kennedy was the consummate "problem drinker," who carried a custom silver hip flask, courtesy of  brother Bobby - a gift presented him after becoming Senator to Massachusetts in 1962.

No matter where Teddy Kennedy went - like Mary (and her little lamb) - the silver flask was sure to go.

On the night of his July,1969 accident with Mary Jo Kopechne, Kennedy had been drinking for an estimated 8 hours prior to driving off a wooden bridge. Then - leaving a still-alive 23 year old girl to drown - brave Teddy went back to his hotel and slept it off.

Later on, accounts from news reporters- who had interviewed Kennedy "off the record" - would be taken aback when he would non-chalantly pull out his flask, then drain its contents while recapping his ill-fated life's story.

Of course this was NEVER mentioned by a liberal press, choosing instead to portray Kennedy as some mythical protector of the underclass, rather than his real persona - a callous politician with a surefire forum for getting re-elected: buying votes- a trick that went all the way back to the days of FDR.

Ted Kennedy - knowing full well the story of Franklin D. Roosevelt - was the greatest vote-buyer in American political history.

From the time brother John was killed in 1963, to July 1969 when his chance ended, the Whitehouse had been destined to be Ted Kennedy's for the taking. His father (Joe senior) had always described young Edward (Teddy) as..."the best politician in the family"

That said, by the mid 60's, a power-obsessed Ted Kennedy began to build his coalitions - the minorities, the unions, the poor - the so-called underdogs of society, who's leaders were always in unanimous agreement ..."Ted Kennedy was the ONLY politician in America that could be trusted".

In 1964 - barely four months after his older brother was assassinated - trustworthy Ted Kennedy (then a 32-year-old serving his first term) gave his first major speech on the Senate floor over a divisive, highly controversial Civil Rights Bill.

Kennedy said...(quote) "We should not hate but LOVE one another".... "We should use our powers not to create conditions of oppression that lead to violence, but conditions of freedom that lead to peace"... It is in that spirit that I hope the Senate will pass this bill."

Bravo! Ted Kennedy, always the great speechmaker.

Call it what you will, Kennedy's impassioned statement was indeed, masterful political theater. He was probably half-drunk (or worse) during its delivery- although at the time no breathylizer existed on the Senate floor.

In 1965, it was Senator Ted Kennedy who would create an even more tense society by passing "chain immigration" laws. Presently, millions from incompatible cultures now call America home: Hispanics, Muslims, Hmongs, Koreans, Somalians, Ethiopians, etc.

Additionally, Kennedy's policies have created even greater racial tension between competing (and fast-growing) ethnicities, that have long-since failed to assimilate into America as "Americans."

The result? One of Kennedy's most enduring legacies – multi-culturalism..."press 1 for English; press 2 for Spanish" - with the once-great state of California as its origin.

Visit the "state" of California today; a foreign land of multi-cultural parallel societies; a liberal stew of hate that is responsible for legislators like Boxer, Feinstein and Maxine Waters, who call conservatives "Neanderthals", and want to distribute even more wealth from harried taxpayers, and make an already impossible situation even worse.

Yes; it was all thanks to a scheming, politically-ambitious Ted Kennedy, who's opening of the borders would be his way of establishing a permanent democratic voting block and eventually elect him President.

After 45 years of Ted Kennedy policies, we now face a tsunami of illegal aliens; crowding our classrooms, closing our hospital emergency rooms, unleashing violent crime, and driving down wages.

In the 1960's, it was a young Teddy Kennedy, who campaigned for the Great Society that would eventually destroy the family structure  of the "underclasses" - hurting blacks the worst.

As a result, the jails are filled almost exclusively with men who grew up without fathers, thanks to, among others, Ted Kennedy. . 

It was Kennedy, the great "liberal lion," who spent 47 years clawing our U.S Constitution into shreds.

But are we being too harsh? Are we being mindreaders? Rather, should we grant Ted Kennedy a pass and say "he had great intentions", only with horrible unintended consequences?

To Kennedy's great credit, he was instrumental in writing the law that outlawed age discrimination - the "Americans with Disabilities Act".

As a child, Teddy Kennedy remembered how his mentally retarded older sister, Rosemary, was institutionalized (and later lobotomized) by his uncaring father. Hence, Kennedy did reveal - as many will contend- that he was a man of compassion and decency.

But decent human beings do not act the way Kennedy acted on the night of July 18, 1969, when Mary Jo Kopechne’s life was cut short by the Senator’s cowardly actions; and his subsequent lies to try to save his "future presidency."

Decent human beings do not drive their wives to drink and despair with their philandering ways. Kennedy often cheated on his wife, supported all forms of abortion, covered up for his nephew in 1990 when he raped a young Florida woman; then worst of all - abandoned a poor girl in a watery grave, when she could have been saved.

But other than that, Ted Kennedy was a devout, church-going Catholic.

Ted Kennedy, perhaps the most hypocritical, cowardly politician in American history, is largely responsible for the dark underbelly of America's welfare state; a left wing, bomb-throwing socialist - the most liberal democrat to EVER serve in the U.S. senate.

The unintended consequences of his “compassion” led to a legacy of disasters; the creation of a permanent underclass; the breakup of the black family; the disgrace that is public housing.

All this (and more), is Ted Kennedy’s heritage of compassion.

This man is directly responsible for the "immigration reform" that COMPLETELY changed the demographics and culture of this country. He was behind the scheme to force banks to loan to people who couldn't repay those loans; and not surprisingly, originated the current attempt to take away our personal liberty under the guise of "health care" reform.

But perhaps it would be more fitting they dump his casket into Chappaquiddick - a burial worthy of a true psychopath,  who had abandoned a girl there to die a ghastly death, then had the gall to ask "forgiveness" from the American people.