Ted Kennedy

The death of Senator Edward Kennedy is cause for thought about his impact on America. Probably his most important contribution to this nation is never mentioned: In 1980, Kennedy ran a close battle against then president Jimmy Carter. While Carter won the nomination, Kennedy's fight was sufficient to wound Carter severely. The end result was the election of Ronald Reagan in November. We will never know if Carter could have survived Reagan's challenge had the Democrats been truly united. Nevertheless, both for his contribution in the removal of Carter and for bringing the age of Reagan, Kennedy deserves a nation's thanks.