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tv   Larry King Live  CNN  August 27, 2009 9:00pm-10:00pm EDT

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her. so he's really looking forward to seeing her again as well. >> i can't imagine what this family has been through and what a day for that mother to lay eyes on her girl again. randy kay for us to night. thanks so much. that is it for us tonight. "larry king live" will have a lot more on this coming up just after. this >> larry: tonight john f. kennedy makes a trip to the presidential library that bears the name of his brother. senator john kerry, senator chris dodd, senator john mccain, former vice president dan quayle salute their friend and former colleague and say farewell to teddy next on a special edition of "larry king live."."."
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>> larry: good evening, you're looking at the john f. kennedy museum. members of the public pay their last respects to senator kennedy. kennedy's widow vicki spoke to reporters and "state of the union's" john king caught up with robert f. kennedy jr. watch. >> i just want to thank them so much for coming and showing love and support for my husband. i just want to let them know how grateful we all are. >> thank you. thank you all. >> this is deeply, deeply moving for all of us. >> about a week before he died, he -- he was out on his boat.
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and he was very sick by that. he was losing some of his ability to find words. and he was so very cognizant and he was able to steer his boat and to reason and understand all the conversation. but it was sometimes during some parts of the day that were difficult for him to find words that he was looking for. >> larry: joining us to begin things is senator john kerry, democrat of massachusetts 2sh00 democratic party nominee. he's on the phone with us. the loss of ted kennedy is the topic of the day. i know you've been in close contact with the family. how are they doing, senator? >> well, they're much, much moved by the events to have day. you know, they're an extraordinary, strong group of individuals who through the years unfortunately have learned how to cope with loss. and this is one of those rare
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circumstances where to have a chance to say good-bye to somebody who lived an extraordinarily full life, long life and unbelievably productive over the course of that. so i think there's a great sense of pride, a great sadness. but really a celebration. i think people are feeling, you know, it's important to celebrate the accomplishments of this unbelievably capable public servant. >> larry: you're speaking at tomorrow night's memorial service at the library. what will be the emphasis? >> well, just teddy. i'm sitting here actually right now, larry, trying to put some thoughts together. i find it's a lot harder probably to keep it as narrow and as, you know, focused as it ought to be. there is so much you want to talk about and there is so much to talk about. ted kennedy had a bread thth th was really layer in public life. he managed to nurture so many
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friendships at so many levels. take care of an unbelievable number of children as a surrogate father, be president for so many birthdays, so many baptisms, so many graduations and so forth. and, still, implement one of the great legislative records of all time. it's an extraordinary story. >> larry: you said you were his student in the senate for 25 years. what essentially did he teach you? >> well, he taught me so many different things, larry, frankly. i mean i wish i learned some of the lessons earlier. i might have done a little better at some stages. i got to tell you, you know, when i first got involved in politics, like a lot of young people, you know, it's about the issue. it's about how you change something or get something done immediately. and teddy really saw many more dimensions to it and taught me that. i mean for him, it was about people. it was about life. it was about, you know, values. but mostly people. and i think watching him, you
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know, reach across the aisle, seek compromise, look for ways to get things done and know whether to do that, you learn a lot about how to legislate, how to get things done and how to make the senate work. and fortunately i have some years ahead of me. i hope to be able to apply some of the lessons. >> larry: with all the ups and downs of his life, do you think he died happy? >> oh, god, absolutely. no question about it. and he -- first of all, his marriage and his family together were his joy. i mean i cannot tell you. he just was the proudest parent, unbelievably caring about every member of the family, the extended family. and his love affair with vicki is really very beautiful relationship. and i think everybody who saw it up close understood. when he went into a room and introduced her and when they went to events together, she was just his absolutely
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inseparatable partner. it's very beautiful. >> larry: we look forward to watching you tomorrow night, senator, and wish you the best. >> thank you, my friend. take care. thanks for hosting. >> larry: senator john kerry, democrat of massachusetts. this has been a day of memories and mourning in massachusetts. here is part of a journey that began in senator kennedy's home on cape cod and will end saturday at the arlington national cemetery.
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>> larry: senator john mccain lost a friend, colleague and teacher yesterday. and john mccain is next. ( siren blaring ) special interest groups are trying to block progress on health care reform, derailing the debate with myths and scare tactics. desperately trying to stop you from discovering that reform won't hurt medicare. it will actually strengthen it
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>> larry: we now welcome to "larry king live," senator john
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mccain, friend and colleague of former senator ted kennedy. the senator will speak at tomorrow's memorial service. how did that come about, senator? >> well, vicki called me in and asked me if i could be there and speak. i told her i would move heaven and earth i would be there. and so i'm very honored to have the opportunity to say a few words on behalf of the last lion of the senate. >> larry: give us a little advance notice what your topic subject will be. >> well, believe it or not, part of the subtopic will be that ted kennedy and i didn't always agree. and from time to time we had very spirited discussions, even maybe pot point of questioning each other's recent ancestry. >> larry: i remember during the campaign when teddy got sick and supporting your opponent, you still went out of your way to praise him. what did he have?
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>> well, he had a gregarious personality. he had a keen sense of how to position himself with people. he had an old irish wit and great storyteller. but all of those things paeld in compa paled in comparison that once he was on an issue, he was relentless and he -- once he gave his word, then there was never any variance from that to the point where he would cast votes on amendments that really were against his own position in order to keep a carefully crafted compromise intact. and when others from his own party and our party didn't do that, i've seen him chastised and rather severely. >> larry: some on the extreme right today are going out of their way, it seems, to criticize him. is that a little too soon?
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>> oh, i don't think it's necessary. history judges all of us. and after a period of time i think history will make a judgment about ted kennedy. all of us had our failings and weaknesses. but the fact is that ted kennedy was an institution within the institution of the senate. and all of my colleagues, no matter how they felt about his causes or his positions, i think would agree with that. >> larry: in 2007, senator, ted kennedy delivered quite a few stem winding speeches. this is during the debate over the minimum wage. watch. >> what is the price, we as the other side. what is the price that you want from these working men and women? what cost? how much more do we have to give to the private sector and to business? how many billion dollars more are you asking? are you requiring?
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when does the greed stop? >> larry: what kind of an infect did those things -- those kind of speeches have on you? >> it was both entertaining and intimidating from time to time. he really did not need the sound system. and interestingly, you know, especially when the topic is pretty important, a lot of senators line up, ted would go over there and sit in his chair and the december nsk in the bacd sit there for an hour or two hours and then he would rise up. and it was worth watching. >> larry: anyone in the media would say this, i think you would agree, one of the things overlooked about what makes a great senator is his staff. he had a superior staff, did he not? >> he had a superb staff. and more importantly, he paid a lot of attention to them. for example, when we would be working on a piece of legislation, they were free with
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their opinions. and they sometimes would say things that maybe ted kennedy didn't necessarily agree with. but he had a superb staff. and his alumni is everywhere in government and in private sector, think tanks all over america. >> take a break. when we come back, a few more words from the senator. we'll ask you about that health care debate and his legacy in that area. back with senator mccain and ted kennedy's important legacy in 60 seconds. [ sighs ] whoo-hoo! this hair color is a washout.
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respect, whether health care can be made affordable and available to all americans or as the present proposal through the senate health committee is a government takeover including funding for -- federal funding for abortion, among other objectionable items that are in the bill including 111 new mandates on the part of the federal government. that's not my fundamental philosophy which is competition, which is free enterprise and making health care affordable and available. the problem of health care in america is not the quality, it's the cost. and we should address the cost, not restructure health care so that we end up with a government-run health care system. >> larry: will we have some kind of an improved system that we might say would appeal to part of that legacy? will we change things some way for the better? >> we have to.
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because medicare trustees say that the system is going broke in eight years. in eight years medicare will be broke. and obviously we're not going to let that happen. so there has to be a fundamental restructuring. but it's going to go broke because the inflation associationed with health care, not the quality of health care. >> larry: you talk about squaring off against him. what about when you are with him? on the immigration bill, the two of you, you lost on that one. but what was it like to be with him? >> it was a lot of fun. every morning at 8:30, we would meet for a few minutes just the two of us. and other senators meet with other senators every morning at 8:30 that the bill was on the floor. and we would address the challenges of the day, the amendments, how we were going to address them. and sometimes both of husband to take tough votes in order to preserve the fragile coalition. it was also watching interesting watching him interact with the other senators which i had seen a lot in the past. but he was -- he was a master at
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it. >> larry: did you talk to him since he was diagnosed with the brain cancer? >> oh, yeah. oh, yes. yes. >> larry: what was his spirit like? >> indominable. you know, he said i'm in a tough fight but i'm going to win. and, you know, it was very touching to see him on a couple of occasions come to the floor of the senate to cast an important vote and made a point to have a chance to say hi. >> larry: do you think we're ever going to beat this fight against cancer. nixon proposed a war against it years ago. >> i think that mapping the human genome is going to breakthrough history in the world and that will make it possible for us to defeat most of cancer that afflicts man kind today. >> larry: how are we going to remember him, john? >> a lion.
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lions have failings and lions get wounded from time to time, an indominable spirit, a person who believed in his cause and fought for it in a steadfast fashion. and once his presidential ambitions were put to rest, he devoted the rest of his time to servicing the united states senate. tlaen is no such thing as someone who is irreplaceable in any institution. but he comes as close to it as anybody that i have encount ert ered in the senate. >> larry: when he was against you on any issue, was it ever personal? >> it would get so spirited that you would think it was personal. but once our -- sometimes spirited discussions are done by putting our arm around each other and laughing about it. >> larry: senator, great seeing you. how is your help snj. >> excellent, thanks for asking. how is yours? >> larry: okay. thanks for asking. i'm okay. >> thanks, pal.
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>> larry: see you tomorrow. we'll watch you closely tomorrow. >> thanks, larry. >> larry: john mccain. one of ted kennedy's closest friends is us with, senator chris dodd. he'll join us soon. don't go away. if you've had a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery, another heart attack could be lurking waiting to strike.
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but to make ourselves better, too. >> larry: joining us now, one of the senator's closest friends, senator chris dodd, democrat of connecticut. when did you last see him, chris? >> i saw him, larry, i think about -- i guess in july. i was at my niece's wedding. it was in massachusetts. we stopped on the way back, my two daughters, my wife and i. had a wonderful visit with him. he was so funny. i recall we spent, vicki and i and teddy and i sat and chat for an hour or so. i told him in passing, vicki said ahead of time he really couldn't have children around. his immune system was so vulnerable. but when he heard the children -- i didn't tell him the children were in the car. they were in the car with their babysitter. and he said please bring them in. vicki said, no, you can't. he had them outside the window making rabbit faces at him. this is a 7-year-old and a
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4-year-old, larry. i know this may sound trite. but my two daughters, i was explaining to that 7-year-old yesterday that teddy was gone, it was very hard. he was very good to them. he had a wonderful ability to connect with people, including very young children. in a way that is magical. >> larry: the closeness between you two was much more than political? >> absolutely. i lost a great friend. i mean we just had the best time over the past 30 years. i sat next to him on that health committee of his. i enjoyed him immensely working with him. and then, of course, developed a great personal friendship over the years. and so i know there will be a lot written about his abilities as a senator and how clever he was as a legislator. but i'll leave that for the history books. i just lost a great pal. and in life, as you well know, you end up with four or five great pals and you're a lucky guy. pretty rich. i just lost one of those five. >> larry: senator mccain said nobody is really irreplaceable but he comes as close as there is to it. would you agree? >> yeah, i do.
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i think that's true. and teddy is a very much a senate guy. he ran for president, obviously in '80. but he really was very comfortable in the senate. and i know that everyone has been analyzing his abilities. and i'm sure there will be volumes written about it. but it's not complicated, larry. let me it will you what difference is. he had a great staff. great issues. teddy is smart. it comes down to people liked him. i know, you know an institution of 100 people if they don't respect you and admire you and at some level enjoy you as a human being, you're not going to be a very successful at this. and teddy was very well liked. and i know people came to the senate believing they were going to run under this chasracter tor they heard about. and they found him interesting and meant it. and even though they would go back and use him as a foil, politically, they would privately tell them how many
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they liked him and cared about him. i heard from several miof my go republican friends that called to express and tell wonderful stories about how teddy treated them despite the fact that they would go home and use him, as they say, as that political foil. >> larry: you recently underwent surgery for prostate cancer. did you discuss that? >> the first call i got when he found out i was diagnosed with it was to call me and say welcome to the club. that was back in june. and the very first call i got 2 1/2 weeks ago coming out of the recovery room after the almost five hours of surgery was teddy. and, again, having some roaring good laughter and wondering how i was doing and choice comments about catheters and things like that, larry. >> larry: senator, i know you'll be at both services, i gather. >> oh, absolutely. i'm doing better every day. i have great doctors. and thousands of men have gone
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through prostate cancer. i'm doing well. i feel better every day. and getting to take advantage of this august break to get back on my feet again. and we'll be back in the senate. i still believe we're going to get a health care bill. teddy introduced the first health care bill 40 years ago. and it isn't an exaggeration to say it was the cause of his life. and if we can sort of get beyond the rantings of august and start settling down and acting like teddy did as a senator and do what john mccain just talked about and others and come together, we can get a good bill up and move forward. >> larry: thanks, senator. >> thank you larry, very much. >> larry: senator chris dodd, democrat of connecticut. does his death make health care reform less likely? that is our question and answer at cnn.com/larrykinglive. ted kennedy had many friends from both parties. his political opposite is next. dan quayle, reminisces about his great friend after the break. [ new age music plays ]
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deeply do best when they're challenged. our country has always done best when it's been challenged. >> i think the country is prepared for that kind of challenge and change. ♪ >> larry: on this special night, a tribute to the late senator ted kennedy. we welcome former vice president dan quayle who served in the senate with senator kennedy when he was u.s. senator from indiana from '81 through '89. you called him a good friend. how well did the two of you get along? >> we got along very well. larry, i can first remember when i went to the senate he was one of the few senators that took me aside and said make sure you take care of those young kids. because my children were really very young at the time. but i was a chairman of the employment subcommittee of the labor human resources. and he was the ranking member. and the feeder program was going to expire. and he and i knew that we had to have some replacement.
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and i put together an outline of a plan. i took it to him. he made some adjustments and recommendations. we agreed upon a bill. it's called the job training partnership act. i had trouble with the reagan administration. he had trouble with the democrats. but we stayed together. and we -- the bill passed the senate, believe it or not, 94-0. if dan quayle and kennedy agree on this, there is not much room for disagreement. >> larry: when people were making kind of fun of you know who is dan quayle and what is this and that after that incident on the debate? you know, he really stood up for you. >> yes, he did. and he wrote me a letter during the campaign. and i don't have it memorized. but it was something like this -- he said good luck on the campaign trail. good luck in the election. but without my vote. he said i will speak kindly or unkindly about you, which ever you think will help you the most.
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best wishes, ted. >> larry: what was special about him, dan? >> his passion for life. his passion for people. he was such an -- he had such an engaging personality. people call it the kennedy charisma. but you know him. we all know him. he just loved people. very interested in the family. he knew my kids' names by name. not too many senators that would know other senator's children by name. did he. that's the kind of person he was. he had the biggest heart in the world. didn't always agree with him. but i tell you this, larry, and he's going to be missed, sorely missed because he was able to reach across that divide in the senate from time to time. and when he did, when he did, normally it became law. with me, the job training partnership act, with others, i mean he would be very valuable to president obama and the health care debate because unfortunately today that divide has gotten a lot larger. >> larry: terrible.
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what was it like when you were vice president? did you have dealings with him? >> absolutely. and here's a very telling story about ted kennedy and the kennedy family. i'm sure you recall the murder with ronny moffet? >> larry: yeah. >> ted kennedy was very interested in pursuing who did that. and he accused the pinochet government of chile for doing that. and there was a foreign minister succeeding pinochet. he said i want to go to that inauguration. i said, look, i'd like to have you. why do you want to go? i want to be there when they pass the torch. but i also want to meet with them and talk about this investigation. okay. fine. you have to promise me one thing that when you're down there you will not criticize our administration on what we've done with chile with pinochet
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and with this investigation. he told me this -- it's very telling about him and his family. he said, "my brother always said you do not criticize your country on foreign soil." he kept his word. he was critical when he came home. but not down there. that's the kind of person he was. >> larry: last night joe lieberman said his word was his bond. you would agree? >> i would. i mean, look, once he said i'm going to do this, he did it. you could put it in the bank. i dealt with him whether it was on the job training partnership act or our trip to inauguration in chile. when he gave his word, it was good. now, believe me, it was difficult to get him to that position. but he had a lot of -- look, he had a lot of issues. i mean he had a lot of constituencies that he was trying to serve. but once he looked you in the eye and said i'm good for this, put it in the bank. >> larry: and your president liked him very much, too. >> yes, 41, as we affectionately call him now, he did like him.
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how you could not like him? >> larry: that's right. how you could not? >> when he hear him speak and every once in a while he'd get going. he'd go off on these tangents. ted, calm down a little bit. you know, you guys on the republican side don't really understand. we would banner back and forth. but how you could not like the guy? he was a people person. he was a family person much as i said, he just had a passion for life, for people. and he was just a special person. and he's going to be missed. he's going to be very missed. he is good at forging bipartisan agreements and that's what this country needs. >> larry: and that is something of the past. i thank you for sharing your thoughts. >> thank you, larry. >> larry: former vice president dan quayle on the legacy of his friend, ted kennedy. we'll be right back. hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪
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>> larry: welcome back. the kennedy family established a twitter site. learn more at cnn.com/larryking. click on blog. our viewers shared their thoughts on kennedy's death. here's just a couple. mary writes -- >> larry: as you know, senator kennedy made a number of speeches that will be in the history books. some of about the best ever were
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delivered at the democratic national convention. watch. >> we are the party of the new freedom, the new deal and the new frontier. we have always been the party of hope. so this year let us offer new hope. new hope to an america uncertain about the present. but unsurpassed in its potential for the future. for me, a few hours ago this campaign came to an end. for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on. the cause endures. the hope still lives. and the dream shall never die.
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the vice president said he never saw or can't remember or did not comprehend the intelligence report on general noriega's involvement in the cocaine cartel. so when that report was being prepared and discussed, i think it's fair to ask where was george? i have stood with so many of you in so many great causes. the times have changed. but the ideals are the same. we have only just begun to fight. we will never give up. we will never give in. and in 1992, we are going to win. will we comfort the comfortable or will we strengthen the fabric of this country for all americans? our capacity to do better has never been greater.
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let us not turn back to old policies and old ways that favor the few at the expense of the many. yes, we are all americans. this is what we do. we reach the moon. we scale the heights. i know it. i have seen it. i've lived it. and we can do it again. there is a new wave of change all around us. and if we set our compass true, we'll reach our destination. not merely victory for our party but renewal for our nation. and this november the torch will
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be passed again to a new generation of americans. so with president obama and for you and for me our country will be committed to his cause. the work begins anew. the hope rises again. and the dream lives on. >> larry: you can see more on our special sunday edition of "larry king live," the best of my interviews with ted kennedy over the course of 20 years. it's a look at good times and bad times in his own words. back in 60 seconds. (pouring rain) i had a great time. me too. you know, i just got out of a bad relatio... it's okay. thanks.
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goodnight. goodnight. (door crashes in, alarm sounds) get out! (phone rings) hello? this is rick with broadview security. is everything all right? no, my ex-boyfriend just kicked in the front door. i'm sending help right now. thank you. (announcer) brink's home security is now broadview security. call now to install the standard system for just $99. the proven technology of a broadview security system delivers rapid response from highly-trained professionals, 24 hours a day. call now to get the $99 installation, plus a second keypad installed free. and, you could save up to 20% on your homeowner's insurance. call now-- and get the system installed for just $99. broadview security for your home or business - the next generation of brink's home security. call now. >> larry: we'll be joined by
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david gurgen, ted sorenson and john king. they were all with us last night and they're back. we'll hear from them shortly. first, time for this week's hero. jordan thomas. lost both legs in an accident when he was 16. he learned to walk again and then helped many others do the same thing. >> well, i was diving with my parents in the florida keys. and i slipped behind the boat. my legs were hit by the propeller. i lost both legs below the knee. >> larry: how were you able to bounce back so much that you could then help others less fortunate? >> i had a lot of great people around me. i was raised very well. and i just knew how fortunate i was to have them, especially seeing the other kids around me that were so much less fortunate. i realized that i had to do something to help them. >> larry: how does the foundation work? >> we raise money. we raised just over $400,000 in
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four years. and we provide kids with prosthetics that can't afford them. >> larry: jordan, i salute you. you're a true hero. we thank you very much and honor your presence. you're a great guy. >> i appreciate it. it's great to be here. >> larry: next, gurgen, sorenson and king. right now, there's a nurse saving a life in baltimore. 20 minutes later, she'll bring one into the world in seattle. later today, she'll help an accident victim in kansas. how can one nurse be in all these places? through the nurses she taught in this place. johnson & johnson knows, behind every nurse who touches a life... there's a nurse educator... who first touched them. ♪ you're a nurse
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>> larry: let's check in with anderson cooper. he's in new orleans to host "ac 360." what's up? >> larry, tonight, an incredible story both joyous an tragic. this 11-year-old girl last seen 18 years ago when kidnapped in broad daylight in front of her stepfather was found alive
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today. the details tonight as well as a bizarre jailhouse interview of the man accusedst 18-year abduction. plus the 360 interview with the woman that knows the scenario all too well. elizabeth smart joins me with advice on how to move ahead with life after such a trauma. also, we're in new orleans four years after hurricane katrina hit this city. i'll tour the city with james carville, someone who now calls the place home. we'll take a look at what's working and still has a lot of work to do. and we'll pay respects to ted kennedy. >> larry: "ac 306," 10:00 eastern. john, we'll start with you. are all the former presidents coming to the funeral, john? >> three of the four living former presidents, larry. george h.w. bush, the 41st president of the united states was invited. he told the kennedy family he will be unable to make it. he did call vicki kennedy, the senator's widow and caroline kennedy to pass on his condolences and thoughts at the
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passing of senator kennedy. but he will not be attending. the other ones will. let me describe the scene for you here. there are thousands waiting in line. the line goes on as far as i can see this way into the dark. and one one of the most remarkable things tonight is the kennedy family has been coming out to thank the people for turning out. you showed sound from vicki earlier in the program. the senator's widow, to say thank you to all these people. bobby kennedy spent two hours, we lost track of him, robert kennedy jr. shaking hands, saying thank you to people for woman coming. i talked about his final conversation with senator kennedy. he talked about his role in keeping the family together and what he hoped the american people would think of senator kennedy's legacy. >> he really thought that his mission was to help america to live up to its ideal, to perfect the union, to make us an exemplayerry nation that we ought to be, a paradigm of
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democracy and justice and to persuade americans that we all have to be heroic and resist the seduction of the notion that we can advance ourselves by leaving our poor brothers and sisters behind, believing that everybody has some good. he did that with our family. >> very telling. john king with young mr. kennedy. david gergen, columnist george will today, declared ted kennedy the most consequential of the kennedy brothers. what do you think of that? >> i didn't agree with that. i think he was hugely consequenti consequential. as we discussed last night, the most effective legislature of the second half of the 20th century. his office has listed some 550 bills that he helped to author during his time in the senate, enormously productive senator. but you have to say that john kennedy, under had an enormous
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impact on this country as a rising senator as well. particularly in his presidency, he inspired a new idealism in the country, he brought a new generation into public life. he continues to be a revered president by older americans, especially. and this legacy is still being learned anew by young americans. so i didn't agree that teddy kennedy was the most consequential. i did think that he deserved to be remembered, not only as a can't did i but for who he was. not just a member of a large, almost dynastic family but a man of enormous contribution to the country, perhaps his last contribution was to help elect barack obama. >> if massachusetts does allow an interim senator, would mike dukakis be a good choice? >> mike dukakis is one of the brightest men in massachusetts, still. and i have no doubt that he
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would be a very effective united states senator. i know enough about massachusetts politics from my old days with jfk not to try to intervene as an outsider in that family feud. >> do you think they might approve it, they might aqueueess to the senator's dying wish? >> i think they should arrange for a senator to fill that spot soon and not threat go vacant. that would be a disservice to massachusetts and a disservice to everybody ted kennedy fought for. >> be back with more in a moment. we have an exclusive for you wednesday night, r & b singer chris brown breaks his silence on assaulting rihanna. we'll talk about what he did, why did he it and how the law is making him pay. chris brown, his mother and attorney mark geragos here for the hour, wednesday night, september 2nd. back after this.
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john king, was there any thought to having the body lie in state at the capitol? >> that was considered, larry, but the family decided they wanted most of all for people to visit senator kennedy here in massachusetts. that was the decision of the family. the capitol option was considered but they wanted people to see him here in massachusetts. there are thousands waiting here and there's more time tomorrow for the public to come and bid senator kennedy one last farewell. >> david gergen, if the kennedy story were fiction it would be hard to believe, wouldn't it?
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>> absolutely. you know, there's so many stories here, they fill volumes. i don't know if ted would know this, i bet there are almost as many books about the kennedys as there are about franklin roosevelt. >> more. >> is that probably true, ted? >> there are more about kennedy than franklin roosevelt. >> he was only in for a little over two years. why, if he was only in for such a short time, ted? >> because i think john f. kennedy was an extraordinary president, who it was under his leadership that we first left behind the bounds of earth and began to explore the universe. it was under his leadership and april centuries of discrimination against our black citizens we turned around and
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marched in a totally different direction. and it was under his leadership that the most dangerous 13 days, as historians call it, in the history of mankind were peacefully resolved by a cruel, calm president without firing a shot, which is why you and i are here today to talk about it. >> david, one of the extraordinary things that teddy kennedy did was step out of the shadow of his brothers, though, wasn't it? >> yes, it was. and in many ways, it appears that he spent the rest of his life -- one of the reasons he became such an effective senator was he spent the rest of his life trying to live up to the standards that he thought his brothers and older s eer sister parents represented. he was always the chubby kid not much was expected from. sister nicknamed him biscuits and muffins. he wasn't a very good student. he transformed himself.
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that's the reason i think it's a redemptive story of what ted kennedy made himself into it. >> well said. what's going to happen tomorrow and then saturday? >> well, larry, you'll have more public viewing during the daytime tomorrow. they will shut it down in the afternoon, have an irish catholic wake, a celebration with a great number of vip speakers, including the vice president, senator john mccain, caroline kennedy and joe kennedy and saturday morning is the funeral mass here. the president will deliver the main eulogy at that event. senator kennedy will leave for the military airport, andrews air force base and he will take his final place next to the two brothers. the diversity in this crowd is remarkable. they were talking about at chiefments of senator kennedy and president kennedy. if you could look at this crowd and see the

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