A lot has already been written about Sen. Kennedy's legacy but an article from Time, The Death of Ted Kennedy: The Brother Who Mattered Most, hits the right notes...
Because Kennedy never made it to the finish line, he never had to endure a post-presidential twilight. Instead, by the time of his death he had 46 working years in Congress, time enough to leave his imprint on everything from the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009, a law that expands support for national community-service programs. Over the years, Kennedy was a force behind the Freedom of Information Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He helped Soviet dissidents and fought apartheid. Above all, he conducted a four-decade crusade for universal health coverage, a poignant one toward the end as the country watched a struggle with a brain tumor. But along the way, he vastly expanded the network of neighborhood clinics, virtually invented the COBRA system for portable insurance and helped create the laws that provide Medicare prescriptions and family leave.
Any number of mere Presidents have been pretty much forgotten. But as the Romans understood, there can be Emperors of no consequence — and Senators whose legacies are carved in stone.
Senator Edward Kennedy's legacy is indeed carved in stone. He will be missed.
To see the full photo gallery from time, click here.
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