After the news of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's death, we dug into our archives to see how his career in politics evolved.
- Kennedy: Ifs, Ands, and Buts, by Walter Pincus (6/29/1974). In a profile of Kennedy as a young senator, Pincus discusses Kennedy’s ambitions, his leadership style, and his commitment to health care reform.
- Kennedy the President: Last Chance For Liberalism? (9/23/78), Superman Crashes (12/22/79), and Kennedy, Take Two (2/9/80) by Morton Kondracke. Following the run-up to Kennedy's bid for president in 1980, Kondracke writes that Kennedy’s well-attuned sense of moral outrage, combined with his legislative skill, could make him a fine president, but later questions the vagueness of his platform.
- Hamalot: The Democratic Buffoon-In-Chief, by Henry Fairlie (10/19/87). Fairlie laments what he sees as a lack of depth in Kennedy’s causes and argues that after 25 years in the senate Kennedy has not matured as a politician or a man.