Noblesse Oblige

The Kennedys have been part of my life since I was nine. My sense of noblesse oblige was formed from a caring grandfather, a child's meager understanding of the New Deal and the actions of the Kennedy family. Jack's election, a fellow Irish Catholic from a shared hometown of Brookline, MA at my age of nine and his murder at my age of eleven, followed by Teddy's term in the Senate, Bobby's presidential run and subsequent murder, had a lot of bearing on what I was to adopt as my own political views. No matter what shenanigans Teddy pulled in his life, I was able to ignore them because he was the only chance America had of adopting a national health care possibly. The Clinton's failed terribly at making it a reality, Obama is skirting failure with the same.the same. Had Teddy been elected president, he would have four or possibly eight years to establish his goals. By having stayed as a Senator, he had so many more years to work his programs through to completion. His death is affecting me far more than I thought. There have been only nine years of my life when I have not been represented by a Kennedy. The booming voice...the loud laughter, the dominating presence; yeah, I have those too and guess where they came from...