I just came up with an idea. I’m gonna write under a new screen name and act like I’m a liberal, then tacitly agree with all things conservative. If not me I’ll have a friend do it. Then I’m gonna write some more under my original screen name telling the world how good it is to “meet” a reasonable liberal. And nobody will be the wiser. It’s like planting somebody at a town hall or anti-war rally. I am SO smart.

Peter writes: I’m a little late getting back to the party, but I just wanted to give Valerie a quick “Welcome!” It will be nice to have an opposing viewpoint that doesn’t quickly submerge into the typical name-calling and obfuscation that many on the left have sunk to on this site in recent months.

It appears that Mary Jo was passed out in the back seat of the car when Ted and another women got into the front seat to head out for some private time. Prior to reaching the bridge there was an altercation and she left the car. This was just prior to his traversing the bridge. He was inebriated and unable to keep the car on the bridge. It went over and he got out. He did not know Mary Jo was in the car. Had he known he might have been able to save her. It was very shallow but the car was submerged. He did not swim but walked back to the motel. He then tells a couple of his flunkies what had happened and goes to bed. Early the next day they head out to see if they can somehow retrieve the car and keep the event a secret.When they get there they discover there is a woman in the car. Not cool.

They go back and wake up Ted who calls one of his advisers and he decides Ted should call in the police. Originally they were going to keep it a secret but could not think of an ideal story so they went with, Ted the hero, swimming to get help. There were a lot of payoffs to keep everyone quite. Hopefully one of the participants will now come forward and corroborate this story.

144. Now and Then:
141. Meryl:

‘“Come to think of it, I’m just SURE she (Laura Bush) was never found falling down drunk on the streets of Washington. Maybe I just missed the news that day.”’

“Actually, Laura was the go-to person for buying weed in her youth. Like it or don’t. True anyway.”

I’m not aware of that being a fact, but have heard the rumor. Let’s assume it’s totally true. Gee….the fact that “in her youth” she did this (assuming it’s totally true)….well now!….that IS almost EXACTLY the same as Ted’s decades of public living, isn’t it? Thanks for setting me straight.

I am aware that Ted Kennedy actually left Mary Jo Kopechne to die. I was old enough when it happened to read about it as the situation unfolded.

I am factually aware that Ted Kennedy actually lied to police officers who came on the scene at the family’s Florida compound as they began investigating the rape charges against his nephew. I read the statements of fact describing how he lied to the officers to make it more difficult for them to catch up to his nephew and arrest him.

It was factually documented by the Catholic church that he obtained an annulment from his first wife–which as I understand it, means that the status of the marriage is “as though it never happened”. (with a couple of adolescent children within the extended Kennedy family headed by Joe and Rose—yeah, sure, that makes sense)

Ted Kennedy’s public drunkenness was observed and documented by many people at various times, over the many years that he stunk up our Senate.

Ted Kennedy was feared by waitresses who knew from experience that he was willing to physically assault them, with the cooperation of that other fine Senator Scum Dodd and physically restrain them as they screamed for help.

But like I said, thanks for setting me straight. It’s clear that Laura Bush has led the same kind of life….. Oh no, wait just a minute. As I think about it, I realize….you are just setting up false comparisons! and trying to blur the facts about Ted Kennedy so that we will stop saying what is so about Ted!!!! Wow. That was close!

But thanks anyway for giving me the occasion to enumerate again the factual, well documented, widely understood, real life events that a whole bunch of us remember about the life that was Ted Kennedy’s…a long life because nobody aborted him or left him to die in a car in his 20’s or gave him a pain pill and told him to go home and die with no fight against his brain cancer (he was allowed to FIGHT IT).

None of us are pretending that nobody else has ever done anything wrong. We are not pretending that others have not done stupid things. We’re just tired of the whitewashing that precedes his apparently inevitable elevation to sainthood. (Of course that might be slightly delayed since the Pope apparently isn’t that blown away