R.I.P. Sen. Kennedy

It has been reported late Tuesday night that Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has passed away after having battled brain cancer and ill health for some time now. He was 77 years old and the third longest serving member in the history of the United States Senate.

One of only two brothers in the Kennedy household to live long enough to see old age Ted Kennedy led, in my opinion, one of the most storied political careers of all time.

I had the privilege of meeting Ted Kennedy at a leadership conference in 2005. And hearing him speak and watching the way he interacted with members of the audience was astonishing. In spite of his sometimes radical and left leaning policies and agendas Ted Kennedy was truly one of the very few members of congress over the last hundred years who was not a politician, but a statesmen.

While I rarely agreed with his policies, and he rarely agreed with the policies of the Republican party he was always listening to the other side of the argument looking for any gem of wisdom that could help our country. And he became one of the few members of congress who was genuinely bipartisan and would cross party lines to do the right thing.

For all of his faults and what seemed to be the Kennedy curse, The Senate has lost it's 'Lion of the Senate' and the country has lost a political giant this evening.