May 12, 2009: Kennedy Writes Letter of Hope, Praise to Obama, Foresees Success for Health Care Reform

Ted Kennedy, shortly before his death. [Source: Mother Talkers (.com)]Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who has just learned he has terminal and inoperable brain cancer, sends a letter to President Obama about his hope for health care reform. Obama will reveal some of the contents of the letter during a September address to Congress (see September 9, 2009). The letter reads in part: “I felt confident in these closing days that while I will not be there when it happens, you will be the president who at long last signs into law the health care reform that is the great unfinished business of our society. For me, this cause stretched across decades; it has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me—and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination. There will be struggles—there always have been—and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat—that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country. And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family’s health will never again depend on the amount of a family’s wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will—yes, we will—fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.” Senator Kennedy compares Obama with his brother, former President John F. Kennedy, “who inspired a generation and the world,” and says he has “great hope[s] that as I leave, another young president inspires another generation and once more on America’s behalf inspires the entire world.” [White House, 5/12/2009; Salon, 9/9/2009]