healthcare back in the early 1990's when it was metropolitan insurance company. it was one the worst run insurance companies in america. they predict he merged them they were poorly run and turn them into the biggest efficient. he is a doctor. he created the biggest insurance company in america for his shareholders. his stock went from nothing to being a very valuable. if you are a shareholder, you probably thought he got a lot of that out of nothing. he turned into an $80 billion company. it is nice to have shareholders who are mutual fund owners investing in united healthcare. he had a lot of stock in 1992. on paper, you can never defend anybody making a billion doctor -- dollars.

it is very large, very comprehensive, and its shareholders were rewarded. it is like the government paid it. there are two sides to the story. . he created a massive company. he was in it very early. again, i'm not trying to defend him. certainly the taxpayers never paid united health care $1 billion. they are the single biggest contractor for medicare. they make on average about a 3.5% profit on their part d plan which is drugs and plan which is drugs and probably a 4% margin on their medicare advantage plan which is about the average. should mcgwire get paid $1 billion in stock options? probably no. maybe the board shouldn't have given him that much. it's not like the government paid him $1 billion. i don't think that's the problem of the insurance can we live in a capitalist company and he happened to max out on the capitalist side.

if you don't like it, tax him more. host: mr. vladeck. guest: well, i'm glad that mr. scully is supporting higher taxes. if you can have expanded participation and private enterprise these sort of things are going to has. it's part of the tradeoff. i think sense the banking collapses and some of the wall street bonuses people have been a little less enthusiastic about the general desirblete of unregulated -- desirability of unregulated firms of performing important functions. but, you know, i think bill mcgwire was overpaid too but that's what's going to happen when you encourage private -publicly held insurance companies to take over governmental functions. host: is that a fear of yours when it comes to medicare part c also?

guest: not particularly. again, it's not a fear in the sense that it's a known quantity. what i would fear is that well long-term financial well-being of medicare will be damaged by the overpayment on behalf of a fraction of beneficiaries who get some of that back in additional benefits. but the rest of it sort of disappears into the private insurance industry. and as a result, the federal deficit is worse and the long-term financial prospects of medicare are bleaker. guest: and i agree with bruce on the overpayment. i think it's a political difference. there is a lot of regulatory discussion on fixing the structure. and california had a medical loss ratio of 85%. if you collect a dollar in premiums you have to spend 85%, 85 cents on the dollar, and that's a standard state

regulatory form. so every dollar in the medicare plan, private plan collects they spend 86.6 cents in benefits which is much better than the commercial sector. they're much more regulated. if you turn back the benefits to seniors higher than the commercial sector -- and, look, could you regulate medicare advantage plans more? you probably could. c.m.s. watches them pretty closely. the issue is they don't make extra profits. they have extra benefits to hand back to seniors. i agree with bruce they should be changed and they should be in a level playing field. i personally think that, you know, we live in a capitalist country and i prefer to have a third party capitalist with their money at risk providing services than the trust funds with these giant funds that nobody -- if somebody overpays for a wheelchair nobody cares and they move on. i think capitalism, well regulated capitalism works. i would rather have that than

the government fixing prices. that's the fundamental issue. host: muncie, pennsylvania, please go ahead with your answer. caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. i have humana gold choice. host: are you part c, naomi? caller: am i part b -- host: c? caller: right. yes, ma'am. this is what you're calling part c? host: yes, ma'am. caller: yeah. and i'm very well satisfied with it. and it is not a -- i can go to any doctor that i want to. and i pay a $15 office visit co-pay and a $30 specialist co-pay. it also includes my drug program. and it's not, you know, where you got to go to this doctor that they say you go anyplace you want to.

but i know the president is saying that geisinger has a very, very good plan. i use it but they no longer take medicare or the part c. and you sign a paper that you may be charge extra, you know, but the problem in there is they're taking you. but now they have this little piece they call geisinger fee. it's like -- it's like down in tennessee, the one hospital calls it a facility fee. and it's $100 when you walk in the door. so i had changed my eye doctor to where i don't have to pay $100 to walk in the door or my

insurance company doesn't and he accepts the $30 fee. i'm very, very well satisfied with that. host: naomi, could i ask you, what is your monthly premium for your medicare part c? caller: my part b? host: part c? caller: nothing. i have nothing. i pay nothing. pand i just -- and humana has gotten in touch with me and told me that with the income that i have monthly from social security, which is all that i have, that pennsylvania has a program to cover the part b, which is the $96. and i've been approved of that. was approved july 20. and that will give me an additional $96 a month in my

pocket. guest: you should have her on the program. she has all the moving pieces. she is called partial dual eligible. because she is low enough income that she just has social security, medicare, the state of pennsylvania's medicaid program will pay her part b premiums. that $96 will no longer come out of that social security check. if she has lower income, they would pay other things as well. so she's getting part of that. now she is also in a medicare part c plan, humana gold choice is a private insurance plan, i don't know, given where she's from. it's a little unusual you go to any doctor you want. your co-payments are $30 and $15 and that's because, as bruce said, they probably have a plush plan that covers eyeglasses and other things and she's happy. if congress comes away and takes some of these subsidies down, which they could take 10%, 12% out of it, your

monthly premium will be $30 plus your co-payments going to the doctor will be $25 and $40 and your costs are going to go up. it's basically two moving pieces. there are a lot of seniors out like this woman and they get a note in the mail and say, guess what, you're paying more and you are not going to be happy. whether you're a democrat or republican, it's going to be tough. this is largely me. i tell you, i don't have any cynical -- i was the primary person in the administration driving this. me and secretary thompson. this is exactly what we intended. the payments went a little farther than we intended. getting it back will be tougher. this is the dynamics with the seniors that are the moving pieces that are causing the issues. host: bruce vladeck, any comment to naomi's comments? guest: i hope in fact if the government cuts their subsidies to humana for the caller's part c plan that humana steps up to the plate and maintains her

benefits, even if me take lesser profits out of the plan. host: what was her reference to geisinger? guest: she is in a managed care plan or p.p.o. plan. it is a huge hospital complex in kind of mid eastern pennsylvania. penn state. she's in geisinger and she is probably around the herbie area. probably one of the better sfailts there. said if you are with humana we'll hit you with a splell -- supplement fee of $100. if she was in traditional medicare, assuming she wasn't as low income, she would get part a and part b and by a united health plan supplemental coverage which would probably cost her $250 or $300 and get any doctor anytime and geisinger wouldn't do that to her. she has a few more barriers to hop over. host: fred, health care

professional, hilton head, south carolina. caller: i am a firsttime caller and represented most of the insurance companies in the past seven or eight years in our area. when part c came long, the plan f, the medicare supplement, not everyone qualifies. if you don't sign up within six months at age 65 it is underwritten like a normal health plan. most don't qualify for a plan f. and typical medicare a and b is basically an 80/20 plan. so if you would have bypass surgery at $100,000 you would have the deductibles, the government would pay 80% you would pay 20%, $20,000. they're expensive. the other problem is if you could get a plan f off the batch you are only paying $100 to $125. you get to the age of 80, 85, that plan f could turn into $250, $300 a month.

not good for people living off a small pension plan or living off of social security. the other problem is these companies, such as care improvement plus, was a company that covered chronic illnesses, is a chronic illness plan. they plost $16 million the very first year. of course, what happened the next year they doubled their premium for their part c. the other problem is in south carolina we had seven companies, insurance companies -- excuse me -- little nervous -- drop out of the plan. blue cross and blue shield of south carolina has a company called instill. at this time my clients in september are receiving a letter saying they are disenrolled. the company lost so much money. but the part i am trying to get to is, there's not a lot of profit for insurance companies, the doctors take a lower cost and the clients. now, they say the average senior from 65 years old to their demise will spend over $300,000 in medical costs. so if the government is only

giving an insurance company $11,000 a year to maintain, to put the responsibility on the insurance company, i would think that would be a very insignificant amount for the government to pay for seniors. the other problem is insurance agents took a real hit. they really need to get together. i got a contract with united health care just on part b. commission was $70. without -- it dropped to $20. i now owe united health care $700. so it's not feasible. mr. scully, if you would speak to a senior and explain medicare a, b and c megagaps you'd totally confuse them. my question is, part c is very important to seniors in this country. host: and you're a fan of part c? caller: yes, i am. marv: ok. thank you very much. -- caller: yes, i am. host: ok. thank you very much.

let's start with bruce vladeck. guest: there's no payments at all to insurance agents or brokers because the government takes care of all the expenses associated with that. i'm sorry as well to learn that south carolina, unlike most other states, permits medical underwriting for medigap supplemental policies and excessive age manning. i think the underline problem is that, again, $11,000 a year is a lot of money. it only accounts for about half the total health care costs of people 65 and older. so we have this dilemma in the medicare program that's most fundamental that we don't think we can afford its growth at the current levels when in fact the benefits have major, major holes in them. and the real long-term

challenge of medicare reform, which is not being addressed at all this year i think in the health reform is that as the population gets older and as older people get less affluent, which is the result of the economic development in the last decade they are going to be, medicare does a very good job of paying for the part of health expenses they encounter which it pays for, but, again, it only covers about half or 55% of the total health care costs á@@"@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we mentioned $11,000 per senior. that is an average. one of the major changes is that if there are 45 million seniors, there is a process to go through to figure out if you are a 64-year-old marathon are, -- if you are a chronic patient with cancer, you may get $4,200.

it depends on your status. have older, sicker, frailer seniors, they didn't want them. we flipped the incentives in 2003. so now all these insurance companies are chasing older, sicker people. you have a patient that gets a $45,000 patient and does a great job for them at $35,000 you make a profit. everybody doesn't get paid the same thing. the payment per patient varies massively by age, sex, geography and now health status. now they have 83 little things they get through your medical records privately that tells you what your value is to the insurance company. and so now it's very attractive for insurance companies to go after older, frail seniors to get them to the private plan which is exactly reverse of what it used to be. host: under 65, good morning. caller: good morning. you discussed durable medical

equipment spending a couple of times this morning. this is the slowest growing sector in medicare. it's less than 1% per year. and yesterday mr. vladeck said that congress has prevented cuts in spending. actually, that's untrue. it was cut in 1997, 2003, 2005, 2008. it's less than 50% of what it was even 10 years ago. host: is this michael rhinemer? caller: so with competitive spending in this sector, yesterday you failed to mention that the delay in the program was paid for by the durable medical equipment sector through a 9% cut effective january this year which paid for all of the projected savings and the bidding program was expected to project.

host: ok. is this michael? caller: yes. host: i was going to read your email to mr. vladeck in the program once we got done talking to part c. he's the vice president of the american association for home care. he had some issue with a couple comments mr. vladeck made yesterday and we have his email and we will read that a little later in the program after our discussion on part c. so we'll just ignore that for now but we will come back to that. loretta in for the valley, georgia, 65 and older please go ahead with your question to tom scully and bruce vladeck. caller: yes. i am a retired teacher and i have united health care and medicare part a and b. recently they had the open enrollment, i received a letter saying i would have to take cigna medicare standard. either a premium of that.

and united health care medicare standard plan or premiere plan. and my concern is this. if i don't -- if the doctor doesn't -- my doctor doesn't accept it so i have to go to another doctor but i like the doctor i'm using and i prefer having mine separate. butter in saying that it's not so if i have to get it i would have to pay $500 more out of my pocket. and i am on a fixed income. and i asked why and they said that the government changed this. there's a legislation that did it. i'm concerned if this goes out then what will happen with my regular -- my private insurance, united health care private? host: loretta, if you stay on the line. bruce vladeck, your comment.

guest: i am not sure i understand the question. there is a real problem in retiree health benefits are being cut back by school systems by governments and so forth all over the country. and it sounds to me like part of the problem here is that -- the georgia system says that her premiums will have to go up. well, those plans are in big financial trouble as well. and this is a problem retirees all over the country are facing. but at the same time the part c plans are raising their premiums in anticipation of sort of reductions that are going to be taken in their payments for next year. so i totally sympathize with the caller. and certainly her desire to keep her current doctor. but if the school retirement

plan is unable to maintain her level of benefits, you know, that's what's happening to people all over the country. guest: i think -- i believe what she was asking, she is in traditional medicare part a and part b and not in part c. she has a supplemental benefit which is separate from medicare. provided for by her school district that is like a medigap plan. the georgia school system apparently has said the cost of that, which is the private relatively unregulated nonmedicare supplemental insurance which could cost you $200 to $400. they say their costs are going up and raising her premium. she has to pay for. what are her choices? getting subsidized by her retiree plan. she probably wants to stick with it. one alternative is to look at an medicare advantage plan. aarp and united health care has a contract with the georgia school system, she should look

at the medicare advantage plan. host: which is medicare part c? guest: which will have lower costs. probably going to be a managed care plan. she probably can't go to every doctor. it will cut her costs. probably give her more benefits at a lower cost. host: loretta, do you have a follow-up question at all? caller: yes. my understanding is that the -- that the governor chose not to meet, you know, what i pay, my premium. the legislation, they decided that. so that put me out of it so i will have to pay like i'm getting a private insurance on my own, the premium. guest: guest: well, if you live in atlanta, there's a state health insurance, it's called chips, they are a private entity that's contracted with medicare. they'll give you lots of help. they won't choose a plan for you but they can talk you through the options and give

you a lot of great options on which plan to get. they help seniors make those choices. sounds like you have a choice you're not excited about. they will help you find the best alternative. host: bruce vladeck, could you talk a little bit about the power of the american medical association or the role of the american medical association in our health care system, your views on it and how if participates in the current health care debate going on? guest: well, i think the american medical association these days is a lot less powerful than what it used to be. a lot less powerful than what people intend to think it is. the physician community has become so sort of fragmented and divided into different groups with different sets of issues. so that on issues like medicare

physician payment, for example, every physician wants to get paid more rather than less and the a.m.a. can represent that very well. but there's enormous fight, for example, between the surgeons and the primary care doctors over pieces of the pie. the extent of the conflicts sort of neuters the a.m.a. in some ways in terms of mobilize physicians effectively on the political front. and these days in washington the specialty groups, whether it's the college of surgeons or even more the subspecialists, the thoracic surgeons, the cancer surgeons, the family practitioners whatsoever are the most aggressive and effective representatives of the medical communities rather than the a.m.a. as a whole. so one of the real issues that i think dr. nielson, as head of the a.m.a., has really had undertaken a remarkable role in

the last year of her efforts to re-establish a.m.a. as the voice of american medicine on health reform and i think she's made a lot of progress. but the underlying issue remains the a.m.a. now represents fewer than half of american practicing physicians. and increasingly physicians that identify themselves not just as doctors but as cardiologist, family practitioners, and that's the vehicles through which they participate in the political process. host: and what's your view on that? do they have too much power, enough power? guest: i think -- i think on economic issues they behave exactly like every other recipient of -- professional recipient of government payment. i any over the last decade or so the government has both in the congress and in the executive branch has done a

much better job of engaging physicians in decisionmaking and those areas where you most need physicians and where the process could most benefit from them in making decisions about ways to improve the quality of health care, increasing patient safety, developing new technologies, which ones ought to be paid for and which ones shouldn't and so on and so forth. i think there's an indispenseable role for physicians. again, it's not through big organizations. it's through the thoughtful, knowledgeable skill folk and getting them the central part in the whole range of the decisionmaking processees both in the executive and legislative branches. guest: i totally agree with bruce on everything he said. i think there's like 40% or 35% of docs that are part of the a.m.a. and the a.m.a.'s power really

comes from structure in the ways they write the c.p.t. codes, they convene the ruck, the resource advisory group, the u.k. convener. so has a lot of power process-wise. but politically, i thinker in' increasingly weak for a variety of reasons. groups are much more -- they have different isss and they fight them. but the other thing, and this is my opinion, the a.m.a. has very good staff but it's run by members that's very top heavy. i've been dealing with it for over 30 years. they're run by people that don't know about washington and that come in and change course over two months and a different guy running the place every year and as a result there's no message. the a.m.a. staff is good. it's like running the namplet there. if you look at ahip, the insurance plan, whether you like them or not, they have one

person leading the charge for years. if you look at the other one, chipcon, who i used to run at the federation, you know, the members have one focal point. the a.m.a. to me, people say who is the a.m.a.? they are five different thousand people. most of the effective trade association town has a person who is the lead person, coordinates what they do and has a message. i like the a.m.a. but the a.m.a. has been messageless for years. the staff deal with a hundred different chiefs. host: tom scully ran the medicare and medicaid during the bush years. and bruce vladeck ran it during the clinton years. danville, hi. caller: you've been very informative over the last three days i've listened to you. my first is just a comment is that even though it's been several years into the

advantage part c program, seniors are still very confused and they still come in the office every day and say they have medicare when they have an advantage part c plan. there needs to be more education on that. really, my question is related to how you -- whether or not when you are submitting a claim to an advantage plan for a code that is noncovered by medicare but is covered by the part c plan, are you required if it's routine to code it as if it were routine or can you code it by the diagnosis that you find? because with medicare we are not supposed to submit it, and if we do we're in violation. but if you submit it as routine to the advantage plan >> sometimes they kick it out

even though they have a routine benefit and they always pay for it. so if they're cap tated, i'm assuming it's ok to put the diagnosis code correctly as what the person had, but if they're not capitated and turning it one-on-one into a claim to reverse to medicare, then that would be inappropriate, does that make sense to you? host: linda, i take it you live in a doctor's office? caller: office manager. guest: three people could answer it in the universe. probably not me. yeah, basically medicare advantage plans are effectively private insurance plans. me frequently track medicare, their payments are totally different. whatever humana or aetna secretal relationship with the doctor or hospital is has no bearing on medicare. medicare have some basic rules. it depends -- it depends on the insurance company. my guess is there are many times when a medicare advantage plan covers something that medicare does not and if you submit it according to the

insurance company's rules they'll pay it. if you submit it to medicare's rules maybe ty@@@@@ host: i am currently enrolled in medicare parts a, b, and tricare for life. what are my advantages of signing up for medicare part c? >guest: if he is enrolled in tricare, unless he has some particularly expensive drug coverage issues, -- it is difficult to see what the advantages fof part c would be

in his situation. tricare is the health insurance program for active members of the military which also provides some retirement benefits as well. embers of the military like this gentleman. guest: it's pretty comprehensive. country is split up into three areas. something called triwest is the contract. they basically provide supplemental insurance. like if you buy a supplemental insurance plan for medicare, triwest does that and fills in the gaps probably at a pretty low cost. it's going to be hard to see how you get a better benefit than you get out of tricare. because you're in california which has about 35%, 37% of the people have commared part c plan, there are a lot of medicare plans out there, it's probably worth looking. the cost is low and you could get something that's a similar cost. but if you you have tricare you probably have a pretty good

deal. host: when it comes to these -- is it fair to call these private plans, that's medigap plans, how many are enrolled? guest: 11 million. host: 11 million have the private gap insurance? guest: yeah. if you look at the world of 47 million seniors and they are low income, so medicaid covers those gaps and all the deductibles and co-payments and there's another -- i forget the number, but probably -- i think seven million or eight million that have retiree health plans, or tricare. tricare is the defense department's retiree health care program. tricare fills in the gap for this gentleman. there are probably 10 million or 11 million people that actually go without medigap at all. they pay the deductibles and co-payments and they eat the cost which is expensive. most people who are not on the retiree health care plan bice

medigap. they are totally private insurance plans. they are not associated with the government. one of the reason i am a big proponent of medicare part c is they are generally not a good deal. their medical loss ratios which is how much you spend per dollar traditionally has been 60% to 0%. host: of what? guest: mutual of omaha for years or united health care, the aarp, let's say they go out and sell you a benefit for $2,000. 70% will go back out in benefits. so 30% will go to profit and overhead. we'll see it's regulated. it's a high margin plan. agents sell it. bruce say agents don't operate in traditional medicare. it's a very profitable plan. in the medicare part c plan, 86.6% of what's collected goes back out in payments . so medigap to me is bad for seniors. tends to be very expensive. if you have traditional

medicare part a, b and c, you have gaps. you need to go get medigap. it's not a great deal. medicare part d is no great -- medicare part a and b basically shoves you, unless you have a great employer, shoves you to buying private health insurance which is not always a good deal for seniors. host: do you agree with that, mr. vladeck? guest: no. it's a substantially better deal, the medigap plans. i can't resist because tom has a couple times mentioned for part c plans run ploss ratios about 86% which is to say that of every dollar the government pays them 86% goes to pay for medical benefits. the medical loss ratio in traditional medicare part a and b is about 96%. so it's that 10% that comes off

the top in the private plans that's the source of concern to many people. in terms of what bin fisharies of the program are getting for the 10%. it's clearly what the insurance companies are getting. it's much less what the government or the beneficiaries are getting for them. host: ken, 65 and older, you're on. caller: i got three little things to make. pardon? host: please go ahead. caller: i go to a specialist every three months and he charges $220 for an office visit. medicare pays him $88.01. when i go to my primary care doctor, he charges $73, and they pay him every penny of that. i have another couple more statements and then i'm going to hung -- hang up and you can answer for me. i was forced into medicare part d because i was a salary

retiree from general motors. when we started getting our statements back and how much they had paid and how much we had paid, i was so amazed what we pay our co-payment is or whatever you want to call it also goes against us on our doughnut hole thing. that to me does not make any sense at all. i got a thing here that says plan paid $774.92. and i paid $223. and that goes still a doughnut hole. i don't understand that. you can explain it to me. i'm going to hang up but i want -- host: parts a, b and d. you don't have part c. ok. thank you very much. what's your response to him?

guest: first, response on the doctor payments . he said my specialist -- bills me $220 and pays $83. medicare made a determination that that the doctor can charge him whatever he wants. you can bill 15% or more in certain circumstances. medicare says here's the rate and we are going to pay it. his commercial rate will be to $220. host: does that lead to upcoding? guest: you pay the best doc $83, they'll find ways to do other services. if the government fixes prices, they'll find a way to have an m.r.i. machine next door and use that a lot or a c.t. scan to generate more services or check more boxes with things on the form. you can't blame the doc. the specialist knows when you come in the door, they know what the rate is, it's $83. you can argue if it's too low or not.

you goes to the primary doc, he gets paid $73. the primary care, medicare decides it's $73. they pay the whole bill. the doctor can -- he's not responsible for paying the extra charges. you can debate the merits of. the senior has no responsibility to pay more than what medicare pays. host: bruce vladeck, before we run out of time, we only have a few minutes left, this is the email from michael, the vice president of the american association for home care. he takes issue with a couple of statements you made yesterday when we were talking about part b. here's the first one. in the email he says that you said that every administer of the c.m.s. going back to the 1980's has tried to change what medicare pays for durable medical equipment. and according to him, this is patently false. they've cut numerous payments in medicare many times since

vladeck left his job. it was cut in the budget act of 1997. and in 2003, 2005 and in 2008. guest: well, i guess i misspoke. congress has made largely cosmetic cuts to some categories to d.m.e. over the years, but none of them have approached the mag any tute that tom or i or our successors or predecessors proposed. and d.m.e. is still overpaid. i was interested in his comments on the call to say that the industry had voluntarily agreed to take a 9% cut in its payments in order to delay the competitive bidding process. what does it tell you about prices in the industry that they volunteer to cut their prices 9% in order to avoid competition in pricing? i think if you think hard about that comment if explains all you need to know about the

d.m.e. industry. host: and also when it comes to the oxygen issue, here is what you said yesterday. every effort for the last 20 years, for the last 20-some years to reduce medicare payments for oxygen has run into a large lobbying campaign from the supplier industry generally organized to frighten beneficiaries to say, you know, if you let this go ahead, congress is literally going to cut off your air supply. and congress has stepped in to prevent reductions in oxygen payments every single time. that's what you said yesterday. this is what mr. rhinemer said. this statement is also patently false. in fact, congress has enacted significant reductions to medicare oxygen payment rates numerous times. and he attached a chart. that documents these cuts. guest: again. to the extent i apply there have been zero cuts. i overstated to the extent that

oxygen is still being paid for substantially higher rates than it should be and the cuts have always turned out to be significantly less than independent analysts have suggested they should be, to the extent that medicare even after all these "cuts" is still paying more for oxygen than the veterans' administration or the department of defense or most private insurers. i would stand by my statement. it's not true that there have been no cuts, but in fact even with all the "cuts" medicare is still significantly overpaying for in-home oxygen. host: we have about five minutes left for our two guests. both ran the agency that regulates and administers medicare. dayton, ohio, kate, under 65, go ahead. caller: i am going to listen to your archives this week so i can understand a, b and c. it's crazy. i've been dealing with my father, who is a world war ii

vet teamster, had only been in the hospital twice in his life when he had a fall a couple years ago. and now we entered the merry-go-round, the insane system of our health care system. why is it so complicated for our seniors? he has now been in three nursing homes and two hospitals the last two years. i have spent a lot of time talking to health care professionals and to the residents in these places. i feel so horrible for our seniors who find themselves in this like web. and i feel like they're old rats running around trying to, you know, trying to just survive and yet going crazy within the system wondering what's covered, what's not covered. i have talked to many of the seniors, including my father, who -- when they go into therapy from one week to the next they don't know whether they're going to be able to receive therapy or not receive therapy because of how complicated their insurance

policies are. so why -- again, can't this be simplified? host: mr. vladeck? guest: i sympathize entirely with the caller's comments. sure, it can be simplified. if it is somebody would have to take responsibility for overseeing all the care some group of seniors require rather than as has been our practice people trying to do what they do well and passing the buck to everyone else. the medicare program never anticipated the needs for all the long-term community-based care that the demographic revolution would create. it doesn't pay for much of it. and, again, everyone is so concerned about federal spending and the federal deficit that it's unlikely that it will expand to pay for most of it. the states through the medicare

program ended up holding the bag for a lot of these expenses. they can't afford it. they don't want it. there is no effective private insurance for older people, and the providers have not stepped up to the play either. when the obama administration proposed there would be a single medicare payment not only for hospitalization beneficiary but all of the care they needed in the 30 days thereafter. nobody volunteered to receive those payments because we do not have an organization that sees its job as coordinating all of the care that a senior needs. we have a few small organizations. we have some experimental organizations that have tried to organize and arrange for comprehensive care for people

who need it. i would say that in general, both from the insurer side and from the provider side, just about everyone has shied away from taking responsibility for the full range of services needed by the patients with the greatest needs. everybody insured in the united states, i hope in the very near future, this is going to be the next step to reforming the health care system which no one wants to talk about. guest: yeah, it's an incredibly complicated system. i think the fact that we really have three health care systems, not one, if you're low income you're on medicaid. if you're over 65, you're a senior on medicare. two totally different single payer type systems. and in between we have a pretty unregulated which needs to be improved commercial sector. 45 million people uninsured. at some point, and it's a long way off, you have one system that has the same structure and

you pay a different amount based on income. which is the structure senator wyden from oregon -- you can't get there overnight, but simplifying the system so that you can understand. host: and you like that? guest: i've told him personally it's undoable. it breaks too many eggs. it's a very complicated system. it's been driven that way, nobody's fault, doctors and hospitals are trying to do the right thing. just became very balkanized with different economic incentives. when i was running c.m.s. during the year i was doing the medicare drug benefit, my mom was in the hospital for 5 1/2 months in six hospitals, got so many m.r.i. and c.t. scans i couldn't count them all. was trying to do the right thing. she got out of it and said the bills that i'm getting was about $575,000 which she paid nothing. so seniors don't understand that either. she was very sick, almost died, had a total spinal chord

meltdown. the system, there is no coordinate nated effort to look at people. it's very frustrating. we need to take a not excitable view of it and slowly, gradually get the system to a more manageable system. you ask me what i'd do 10 years from now, i take the ron wyden fake. trying to get the system where everybody, low income, high income, seniors, commercial sector are looking at a choice of the same basic plans and what you subsidize that depends on your income level is much more rational than the balkanized mess we have today. host: a philosophical comment on what mr. scully just said? caller: well, i think, again, it's been very illuminating to watch -- guest: well, i think, again, it's been very illuminating to watch the health care debate. because patients suffer when there's no coordination, when there's no assumption of

responsibility in the health care system. and yet the fear that americans appear to have of having anyone in charge of the health care system is very real and not entirely misplaced. and until we can really have sort of an honest, calm political discussion about how much we want to avoid making decisions or taking responsibilities for some of these issues so that everyone and every doctor can do whatever he pleases, even at the enormous cost, both human and economic that that generates, we are going to have a hard time solving any of these problems. host: and finally, bruce vladeck, what do you do today? guest: i sort of split my time between public policy work and consulting and advocacy as an employee of nexseria consulting which is a subsidiary of the

greater new york hospital association. host: and tom scully, what do you do? guest: i spend half my time in new york and spend half my time as a lawyer in washington [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> tomorrow, a discussion on that senator edward kennedy's legislative record with richard cohen and suan ferrechio. then a look at the on a promise situation with alan reynolds. later, suart -- >> this month, the ninth circuit court of appeals for the issue of veterans with posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. watch the oral argument,

saturday on c-span. >> now a memorial service for at a word -- for senator edward kennedy at the john f. kennedy library in boston friends, colleagues, and family members shared their experiences. we will hear from vice president joe biden, caroline kennedy, and senators chris dodd, john mccain, john kerry. this is a little over three hours. >> good evening.

it is my honor to welcome you all this evening. on your behalf as well as mine. to offer our sincere condolences to the entire kennedy family. only recently painted by the loss of eunice kennedy shriver, and now by the passing of senator edward m. kennedy. to gene, the senator's children, ted jr. and his wife, patrick, caring, and caroline. each and all of whom brought such great happiness and pride to the senator through the years. the and of course, to vicky whose love and devotion during their marriage was the greatest

joy of senator kennedy's life. [applause] [applause] >> and whose care giving these past 15 months was nothing less than heroic and inspirational. our hearts are with all of you. to leave this in a prayer, i invite the father to invite an indication, after which, the boston community chorus will open the celebration by singing god bless america and i hope you'll join them. . .

the hope still lives and the dream shall never die. he had his sleeves and wakeful nights. he had his nightmares and yet he dreamt a dream that was trapped of the heart -- that was a draft of the heart and only his great heart could hold. he gave flesh to that the dream

in the noble house of his thought where the sick were healed, the sphere broken, and the stranger welcomed. it is the age-old dream of the profits -- of the profitphets. there will be a bank would ge-- there will be a bank with yet -- there will be a banquet yet.

the laugh, the sound of roses, the music -- may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. ♪ ♪ dodd bless america -- god bless america ♪ landed that i love the

♪ stand beside her ♪ and the guide her ♪ through the night ♪ with the light from above ♪ from the mountain to the prairie ♪ to the ocean ♪ god bless america ♪ my home sweet home ♪ god bless america ♪ my home sweet home ♪ died bless america -- god

bless america ♪ land that i love ♪ stand beside her ♪ and a guide her ♪ through the night ♪ with the light from above ♪ from the mountainous to the -- from the mountains to the. ♪ -- from the mountains to the prairie ♪ to the oceans ♪ god bless america ♪ my home sweet home ♪ god bless america ♪ my home sweet home

♪ died bless america -- god bless america ♪ land that i love ♪ stand beside her ♪ and to guide her ♪ through the night ♪ with a light ♪ from above from the mountains ♪ to the prairie is ♪ to the oceans ♪ died bless america -- god bless america ♪ my home sweet home

♪go god@@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my home, sweet home. ♪ [applause] ♪ . .

>> they were great. >> [unintelligible] [laughter] [laughter] [unintelligible] 85, 95, 77. [laughter] >> it was senator kennedy who said that, when the time i arrived, there will be a gathering like this. and he selected the venue this library. thinking back upon other times, when we have felt the ache of emptiness, he was the one from whom we drew comfort and strength. and i suspect tonight will be no

different. i have never met anyone whose spirits were not uplifted by being in the company of ted kennedy. i hope you will feel that way once again when you leave his presence this evening he wanted us to smile and be joyful. as we remember and celebrate the death of his fate, the quality of his character, the generosity of his heart, his love of his family and his friends, his patriotic service to his commonwealth and country, and his callous contributions to the human spirit. for myself, i can say that senator kennedy was the most thoughtful, and genuinely considered human being i have

ever known. [applause] he suffered from the constant pain of a shattered back and he bore more hurt and arctic than munich -- than most humans are ever asked to endure. but, at every opportunity, he brought hope and joy and optimism to more people than we will ever know. each of you have your own memories. but all of us would agree that ted kennedy was fun. he loved to laugh and he loved to make a slept -- to make us laugh. he looked good music and he loved to sing. conducting the boston pops or the harvard band, leaving the traditional july 4 or

thanksgiving day sing-alongs with his friends and family at the cape, he loved to tell a good story. one of his favorites, which you no doubt have heard, went back to when he was 30 years old and made his first run for the senate and he was in a debate with his opponent who questioned his qualifications and pointed his finger at him and said he did not have a full-time job. the next morning, at 6:00 a.m., he was greeting people. a big workers said, kennedy, i heard what they said about you last night. you never worked a day life. let me tell you something, you have not missed a thing. [laughter] he loved that story. he hosted annual dinners for his

aging harvard buddies. he would laugh with that uproarious unforgettable laugh and remind us that the older we get, the better we were. [laughter] but painting a seascape, enjoying the affection of his faithful dog spot, for those of us who work inspired by his unmatchable work efforts, to see him relaxed and enjoy the love of friends and family was our reward as well. to know senator kennedy will was to understand the quiet deathdes of the faith that followed him. he is balanced the the other politics, but he valued his

spiritual those. the purpose of life was to live a life of purpose, to always be helpful and make the most of every moment. persevere and be strong, no matter the adversity. be the best you can be and what you choose to do and serve your neighbors with joy and love and make a positive difference in their lives. during these last several months, senator kennedy was gratified, as we all wordwere, o see the outpouring of inspirational service and the love of a human being. he received an honorary degree from harvard, the john f. kennedy profile in courage award, an outpouring of contributions to the and

kennedy -- and the presidential medal of freedom. the list goes on. these honors our contemporary acknowledgments of what american history will ultimately record. [applause] a that no individual legislator from any state or even in the house of congress, of any political party, work harder or longer with greater adherence to principle or with more political courage for economic and social justice and for world peace than our own edward m. kennedy. [applause]

he was the best at what he chose to do and he left his indelible mark as the most accomplished and effective legislator in the history of this democracy. [applause] he believed and often said that america is a promise, the promise of our founding fathers passed on to each generation to fulfill. he chose politics as the means to fulfill his promise, reminding s that to whom much is given, much as expected. gene shearer gives voice to the life of our patriotic front. -- of our patriotic friend. all that we are given by those who came before it is the dream

of a nation whose freedom would indoor. the work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day -- what shall be the new policy which show our children say? -- what shall our children say? let them say of me i believe in sharing the blessings i received let me know in my heart when my days are through america, america i gave my best to you be at peace, my friend america will be ain your debt forever. [applause]

>> i knew you would agree with me. please join me in welcoming senator kennedy's nephew, the oldest son of robert kennedy and ethel kennedy, former congressman joseph kennedy. [applause] >> you know, ladies and gentlemen, one of the ways that i think senator kennedy's life

can be measured is the kind of people that he was able to surround himself with. everyone who has been a part of this library knows that teddy had one friend who stuck with him from the first day he ran until his last day in office and that was a fellow who he selected to give that lets talk. let's give him a round of applause for a wonderful job that he has done. [applause] i wanted to take a brief moment to thank each and everyone of

you for being here this evening. i wanted to thank you because every person in this audience was touched by ted kennedy in one way or another. all of you know the kind of person he was, what he stood for and how he looked at after 1 very large [unintelligible] he could only do that because of the kindness and generosity of his own family. to vicki, who in these last two days has shown a kind of grace and love and character that is simply beyond belief -- [applause] vicki, i do not know where you

are. where is she? thank you very much. [applause] attitude teddy and kiki, who i love so much, and their whole family, little teddy and kiley, kara and max and grace and my good friend patrick who does such a terrific job following his father's footsteps, thank you. [applause] and to karen and caroline who have welcomed us as we have welcomed them, we just show appreciate the kindness and the love. it is very difficult to share a faller with as big a family as the kennedys are -- to share a father with as big a family as the kennedys are. every one of my brothers and

sisters needed a father. and we gained one throughout our uncle teddy. caroline and john were no different. the smiths lost their father. the truth of the matter is that, for so many of us, we just needed someone to hang onto and teddy was always there to hang on to. he had such a big parheart and e shared it with all of us. we want to let you know that we understand how much you gave to allow us to be cared for -- [applause] and you had to share. you had to share. [applause]

so we just want to say thank you. we just want to say thank-you to teddy's entire family. every time i come to this library, i look to see the remembrances of my father and uncles and president kennedy and now i will be able to come here and remember teddy. but of all of the exhibits and the different aspects of this library, the one that i must appreciate is one that you cannot see at the moment, but it is right around the corner. it is the one thing outside of this building and it is the victoria. most of you know it as a boat that president kennedy own. from my point of view, that was teddy's boat. my father went out and bought me

a boat. he bought my brother a boat, but i kind of crept it. i was supposed to go out and race against teddy every single week and on saturday and sunday. i would see the butt end of that the to going over the horizon. teddy always came in first, second, or third. i like to say that i was first, second or third, but the difference was that i was either last, second from last, or dead last. i just wanted to share with you a little story that i thought captured who teddy is. the reason that that boat is out here in front of the library, the one time that i ever beat teddy is when we work on this race course in hyannis and he said, i think we are overtaking

your uncle. of course, other reason why we were catching him was that he was up to his belly in water. the seams of the book had opened up and the boat was sinking. so we finally passed teddy, by one victory, and, after the race, he came up to me and said, listen, you don't have a book and i do not have a boat. maybe we should get together and buy a boat together. one day of the weekend, i will crew for you -- which would be interesting. and in the next, i will do it for you. so we start to raise this but nonstop. it gets to the biggest race of the year and there are 40 boats. we get that morning and it is a full-blown deal.

-- full-blown gale. it is blowing like stink. we get out there and they, of course, called the race off. so they get it back on care in the race starts. we start the race and it is about 5 miles to the first mark. i thought something was a little strange when the only vote in the other fleet was ours. i thought, maybe they know something we do not. we started down towards the first mark. we are now ahead of this whole other scale. we have this huge advantage. we are ahead by a country mile. and i am so happy.

i am the happiest guy in the history of sailing. what i had not told them was that i cannot steer at all. that book is going where the wind will take us. i look out 500 yards and there is 15-foot high sale buoy. and we are headed straight toward it. then it was two hundred yards and then 100 yards. and teddy says, do you not think we should turn a little bit. i am trying. we hit that the bill wbouy. [laughter] i thought we were headed to davy jones's locker right there. you can go around the bouy three times without hitting it and you can continue the race. now there are 40 boats coming at

us. we somehow make it through and get around the mark three times and are headed towards the second mark. i feel like the biggest deal. there was no way that i could blame this on anybody but myself. i feel so terrible and teddy is up on the windward trail and he is getting soaked and it was not very pleasant right then. he turned around to me and he said, hey, joe. if, last night, before we went to bed, i told you that we were going to round the fourth mark in seventh or eighth place, how would you feel? i guess i would have felt pretty good. and he said, let's go win this race over the course of the next three hours, one after another, we kicked off those boats and we

won the race. i do not tell you that because i think winning that particular race was important, although teddy might tell you it was important. [laughter] but teddy had this wonderful way about him where he could just sense in anyone when they needed a hand. he could just sense -- and cannot tell you how many times in my life -- and i am sure, as i look around and see the people in this room who knew him so well -- that everyone of you does not have a story or two or three or five or 10 of how teddy came and gave you a helping hand when you were down. he was always there. he was telling me never, ever, ever, ever, ever give up. you stay in the race.

if people do not have health insurance, you state in the race. if people do not have adequate housing, you state in the race. if people are not being treated properly, you stay in the race. i saw that men make phone calls to every single family from this state who died in 9/11. i saw him make a phone call to every single family in the state that lost a son or a daughter in the iraq war, first or second, or in afghanistan. this was a man who cared so deeply about those on the outside of political and economic power, people who struggle each and every day to just get by. he lived his whole life fighting for those people.

and that is why i think, when you hear all of these attributes and uc senator mccain and orrin hatch and others here today from the other side of the aisle, they are here because they knew what kind of individual teddy was. they loved his laugh. they love to spend time. but, at its core, they loved to be with an individual who stood for something. ladies and gentlemen, i am here today because i love my uncle so very much, so very much. he did so much for me and my brothers and sisters and my mother when we needed a hand. and i tell you, ladies and gentlemen, there are thousands of others who lost a father or mother or sister or a brother or someone else in this life that

turned to ted kennedy. we have lost such a human being. but you know, ladies and gentlemen, he is going to want us to continue. he is going to want us to live as he lived. he came back after so much tragedy. because of that heart, because of that drive and determination, i ask each one of you to rededicate yourself to the same goals and ideals that senator ted kennedy lived his life for. he lived to make this world a better place and our country and this world is a better place because of the lives of ted kennedy. thank you. [applause]

>> you get a chance to cheer again when we welcome senator kennedy's very good friend from a neighboring state of connecticut who served his state with honor and dignity and we are glad he is back from his procedure, i will call it. everyone, please welcome senator

chris dodd. [applause] >> well, good evening, all. vicki, let me begin by thank you for the remarkable invitation to be here this evening and to stand at this podium and get a chance to express my feelings and my emotions about my dearest of friends ted kennedy. tonight, of course, we gather to celebrate the incredible american story of a man who makes so many other american stories possible. my friend teddy. unlike his beloved brothers, teddy was granted the gift of time. he lived in -- not only come degree here, but white hair. when you look at what he

achieved in 77 years, it seems that, at times, he lived for generations. -- he lived for centuries. two nights, i just want to share a few thoughts about my friend -- tonight, i just want to share a few thoughts about my friend. examples of that friendship are legions. a few years ago, a close friend of mine passed away. teddy did not know him at all. i was asked to say a few words at that funeral. as long as i live, i will never forget that, as i stood at the pulpit, there was teddy sitting in the back of that church. he obviously was not there for my friend. he was there for me, my time of

loss. that is what it was like to have teddy in your corner. when our daughters grace and christina were born, the very first call i received was from my friend teddy. when i lost the iowa caucuses last year, not that anyone ever thought i was on to win them, the first call i received was from teddy. when my sister passed away last month, the first call i received was from teddy, even though he was well into the final summit of his own life. two weeks ago, as i was coming at a surgery, i got a call from teddy. his unique voice was as loud and booming as ever. well, he roared, between going through prostate cancer surgery and in doing town hall meetings, you made a great choice. [laughter] [applause]

and though he was dying, of course, and i was hurting, believe me, he had me howling with laughter in the recovery room. he made a few choice comments that i cannot repeat this evening about catheters. [laughter] as we all know, teddy had a ferocious sense of humor. in 1984, he was in the political fight of his life with mitt romney. i was with teddy and vicki one evening and his team and, along with everyone else, we were offering yard boot -- r advice before the debate began. teddy, i said, we irish always talk too fast. you have to pause, slowdown, and, at the very least, appear to be thoughtful. [laughter] out he went. the very first question was

something like this. senator, you served the commonwealth of massachusetts for nearly 35 years in the united states senate. explain why this race is so close. teddy paused. [laughter] and paused. [laughter] and paused. [laughter] 5 seconds, at 10 seconds, and finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, he entered the question. after words, i said, good lord, a teddy. i did not mean to pause about long appeared he said, i was in thinking that was a damn good question. why is this race so close? [laughter] in these last month of his life, i have so treasured our conversations. at 6:30 a.m. on the morning of july 16, only a few weeks ago,

the morning after his senate health care committee finished five weeks of exhausting work on a bill that he had written, by the way, and that i believe will be one of the greatest of his many legacies, my telephone rang in the morning. there was steady, beyond ecstatic that we had finished our work and that his committee had been the first to report a bill. always the competitor, of course. teddy was never maudlin during the last number of months or so pitying about his health or his condition. he was always fully aware of what was happening to him. every irishman's dream is to attend our own eulogies. that is why we call the obituary page the irish sports page. [laughter] i know he injured a uniquely caltech kick out of people who support his politics -- a uniquely celtic kicked out of

people who abhorred his politics say such nice things about him. was it his political instincts, his passionate oratory, what was it? let me save the political pundits and scientists sometime and tell you what his achievement was. people like him. -- people liked him. [applause] he always had a great staff and great ideas. but that only accounts for so much in the united states senate. teddy earned the respect of his colleagues and adversaries.

many people drew their conclusions about him before he spoke his first words in the united states senate. over the years, he became the target of partisans caricatured him. but once you get to know him, you quickly learned that it was no caricature. he was a warm, passionate, thoughtful, tremendously funny man who loved his country deeply and left the united states senate. if you ever needed to find teddy in the senate chamber, all you had to do was to listen for that thunderclap of a laugh as he turned his colleagues. he served in the senate for almost half a century alongside liberals, conservatives, democrats, and republicans. and he befriended all those

with equal gusto. it was great to see his friends or in hatch and john mccain here this evening. it is to their credit who often supported teddy's efforts. although he rarely supported theirs. [laughter] [applause] but teddies personal friendships with orange and john and so many others over the past centuries were not simply the polish working relationships that make -- simply the working relationships that make things possible. it is the bond that makes the united states senate work. some people born with a famous name live off of it. others in rich names appeared

teddy enriched his magic others in a rich o athers enrich names. teddy enriched his. -- others enrich names. teddy enriched his. our teddy changed america. [applause] nearly everyone important what passed in the past half century bears his mart and many bear his name. he had a passion for public service and abiding faith and his family. his mucha gorda vicki, his children car and teddy, patrick,

caroline, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, all of you need to know that, when you were not around and i was, how often he talked about you and how much pleasure and joy, the compounded joy and pleasure that you brought to him. teddy was a man who lived for others. he was a champion for countless people who otherwise would not have had one. and he never quit on you. he never gave up on the belief that we could make tomorrow a better day, never once. last august, in denver, one year to the day before his passing, teddy spoke at our national convention. his gait, of course, was shaking. but his blue eyes were clear and his unmistakable voice rang with strength. as he passed the torch to another young president, he said

that the work begins a new, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on. he spoke of the great fight of his life, ensuring that every american, regardless of economic status, be granted the rights of health care in their country. he was deeply saddened that he did not live to see that battle won. but in a few short days from now, we will return to our work and teddy's senate. the blistering days oaugust will be replaced by the cooler days of september. and we will prevail in a way that to the o-- that teddy won so many victories. and where teddy earned an immortal place in american history. as he so eloquently eulogized

his brother bobby 40 years ago, he does not need to be enlarged in death beyond what he was in life. we will remember him for the largeness of his spirit and the depth of his compassion. we will remember him as a man who understood better than most of that america is a place of incredible opportunity, of incredible hulk, and the pleas of redemption -- of incredible hope, and incredible redemption. the eternal flame that marks president kennedy's grave, in all the years that i have known and loved this man, that eternal

flame has never filled but to burn brightly in his eyes. now that he joined his brothers on the hillside in arlington, made the light from that flynn continue to eliminate our path forward and with the work of their own hands and with the help of the hand of the almighty god we may continue this work that my friend to a deep love so much. thank you. [applause]

>> as a senator dodd said, senator kennedy had good staff. of an anomalous -- on the alumnus of his staff is nick littlefield. in just a moment, you will learn more of his other talents. welcome him now, nick, to the podium. [applause] >> i think that, for the senator, one of maya most important attributes was that i could sing. you'll know that he loved to sing. vicki and he and family members and pianists that they invited

in all participated in these magnificent sing-alongs. i get to sing with the center in so many places over so many years, washington, boston, the senate, the cave, in maine, and those were all magnificent times. he even had may seem to senator hatch as they were wrapping up the deal on children's health. [laughter] that was the senator at his best. i like the songs that he knew best. we sang "the street that to live" thousands of times. when we sang to a crowd, both of us, if i got to love, he would give me that look and i knew i was in trouble. tonight, i'm going to sing one of the songs he especially loved and which we always sang

every single evening when we get together to sing. we sang this song even the last time i saw him. i think he loved the song -- i know he loved the song, because it says so much about him and vicki. if i could have an e. ♪ ♪ love ♪ love changes everything ♪ earth and sky and ♪ ♪ loved changes everything ♪ how you live ♪ and how you died ♪ love can make the summer flying ♪ or the night seemed like a lifetime ♪ yes, love ♪ loved changes everything ♪ hal i tremble at her name

♪ nothing in the world will never be ♪ the same ♪ ♪ love ♪ love changes everything ♪ days are ♪ -- days are longer ♪ words mean more ♪ love ♪ love changes everything ♪ love can turn your world around ♪ and that world will last forever ♪ yes, love ♪ love changes everything ♪ brings to gloried ♪ brings to shame

♪ nothing in the world ♪ will ever be ♪ with the same ♪ of ♪ into the world we go ♪ love it comes in and suddenly ♪ all of their wisdom disappears ♪ love makes fools of everyone ♪ all the rules we make our broken ♪ yes, love ♪ love changes everything ♪ live or perish ♪ in its flame ♪ nothing in the world ♪ will ever be ♪ the same ♪

[applause] [applause] go away, and it. we're going to get you back before too long. what a gift. our next speaker is the chief executive officer of the commonwealth of massachusetts. please join me in welcoming governor develop patrick -- deval patrick. [applause] >> good evening, family and friends.

like a lot of people, i knew ted kennedy before i ever met him. i knew him from the grainy black-and-white tv images of camelot and my mother used to say, to no one in particular, i love me some kennedy. [laughter] i knew him from the moving speeches, the eulogy of his brother robert, the democratic convention speech of 1980. i got some sightings of him when i was older, like when he entered my high-school graduation with the rest of the family when my knees and -- when his niece and my classmate courtney was graduating. i was working as a young staff lawyer at the naacp legal defense fund. but the first time i actually

met him was in 1993, when i was the finalist for the united states attorney position in boston. all three finalists were invited to washington for a final interview with the senator. and i was nervous. he was already long and icon by then, a legend of progressive politics. we met in his famous capitol hideaway, just the two of us. before we get going good, i said to him that, whatever the outcome of the selection process, i wanted him to know that i knew that my past from the south side of chicago to that interview was paved in large measure by his life's work and that i was grateful for that. and i have to say that, in addition to being truant heartfelt, it was not a bad interview opener. -- in addition to being true and

heartfelt, it was not a bad interview opener. [laughter] i still did not win it. [laughter] he glanced at first when he saw me at a party. he said vicki across the lawn just to make sure the coast was clear before he came over to say hello. for our time, he was a master of the senate. when president clinton sent my name for a senior post, he took charge of the process in the way that only master could. he had meant to the capitol and the position to me in the vice president's ceremonial office just off the senate floor. there was an early morning vote and the senators came off the floor and he heard colleagues into that office one by one to

shake my hand. he said it is hard to demagogue someone you have actually looked in the eye and met. we had more than a few laps later about my first impressions of his colleagues and his more sturdy ones. for example, the importance of just smiling and nodding when speaking with the senator of alabama, even though it was almost impossible to understand just what he was saying or how not to worry about follow-up questions during the confirmation hearing from senator strom thurmond because he could not hear your answer to the first question that he had passed. his observations were never harsh or sarcastic. he was never mean. he was a master of the senate not just because he knew his colleagues foibles, but because he so respected their

humanity. they knew him, but they also -- but he also knew them. of course, he was a ham. two summers ago, they came out for broadway show tunes. its featured merengues the end brian steps mitchell, who we will hear from tonight. stokes is what he thought he sounded like when he sang. [laughter] diane and i invited ted and vicki for dinner that night after the concert. he said that he was going to bring keith lockhart next time. a few days later, he called to say that he was inviting marin and stokes as well.

delighted. but vicki was horrified. she kept apologizing for teddy inviting all of these "add-ons." we were sitting to dinner when another total stranger came to the house. vicki and i looked at each other assuming that we had to set another unexpected place at the table. instead, our mystery guest started to set up a keyboard because he had also invited the pianist from the boston pops so that we could have an accompaniment after dinner. we sang every should tune we knew aninto the wee hours of the morning. that is the thing about ted. he was at the same instance larger than life and completely down to earth. his record of achievement and contribution is unrivaled in the united states senate. his humanity, his compassion, his kindness in some ways had

just as great an impact. a friend of mine recently told me the story of ted's plan to attend the funeral of aesop ravine, the prime minister of israel. the day before he left, he asked if it would be appropriate to bring some soil from arlington cemetery. no one knew the answer. that day, he went to the grave of his two brothers and scooped up some soil and carried and that precious commodity in a shopping bag to the funeral of rabin. after the ceremony, after the crowd had dispersed, away from the cameras and the press, he carefully, respectfully, lovingly spread that soil on his grave. no publicity, just a good man

doing a sweet thing. [applause] . many of them filed in through the doors of this library it of the course of the last two days, signing condolences around the world, with private quiet examples of the rhone. no politician ever made me feel more that public life could be a noble calling or better about who i was and where it came

from. he loved the commonwealth and this country. he loved the american people. but he also believed that we could be orryeran and women and people wh disabilities and racial and ethnic minorities, millions of pragmatic idealist who wanted to believe they could make the world better through public it a great country

even better. it will not be easy, especially with the profound sadness that we feel today that are standard bearer has been taken from us, but it never was, even for our dear lost friend. ted kennedy sailed more often than not into the political wind in search of that better america, and he did it with skill and a grace so typical of him and his family. but his honor his life and accomplishments -- let us honor his life and accomplishments by making his accomplishments are run. god bless you, 50, and all the family. thank you. -- god bless you, the sticky, and all the family. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you, governor. the last time our next speaker was on this stage, he received the john f. kennedy profile in courage award. distguished american, a distinguished united states senator from the state of arizona, please welcome john mccain. [applause] >> thank you, paul. thank you. as paul mentioned, i was last in this wonderful library 10 years ago when russ feingold and i were honored to receive the profile in courage award. ted was very gracious to my family on that occasion. it was my son jimmy's 11th birthday, and ted went out of his way to make sure that it was

celebrated enthusiastically. he arranged a ride force on a coast guard cutter, two birthday cakes, and led a rousing edition of "happy birthday" with his baritone drought all the other voices, as it often did on the senate floor. [laughter] he was good company, my friend ted. he had the irish talent for storytelling and friendship. the lunch that he hosted for us in the family quarters on the top floor of the library, he recalled an earlier episode in our friendship, a story that he delighted in the retelling. it occurred on the senate floor when two freshman senators, one democrat, one republican, neither of whom remained long and the senate, were getting a little bit personal with each other as they debated an issue, which must have seemed import at the time but which neither ted nor i were paying much attention to.

we both happen to be on the floor at the same time and the heat of our colleagues exchange eventually managed to get our attention. you might think, you might just think two more senior members of the senate would in such a situation council two junior members to observe the courtesies which theoretically are supposed to distinguish our debates. ted and i shared that a fight at joined was not -- ted and i shared the sentiment that a fight not joined was a it fight not enjoyed. irresistibly, we were both drawn into a debate that we had no particular interest in, but which suddenly look like fun. [laughter] i struck first, castigating the young democratic senator for abusing my republican colleague. before she could respond for self, ted road valiantly to rescue and within minutes, he

and i forgot why we were there and what the debate was all about. we probably had even forgotten the names of our two colleagues. as one of us spoke, the other would circle the floor, agitated and anxious to fire back. after a while, we must have thought the distance between august to a great for either of us to hear each other clearly or that the pressure of the clerk would be too distracting. as if we both had heard some secret signal, we put down our microphone simultaneously and walked briskly to the well of the floor, where we could continue in closer quarters and in language perhaps too familiar to be recorded for posterity, which regrettably was still all the blood of to be overheard by a few reporters. which was still possible enough to be heard by a few reporters

to try and ascertain just what the hell was going on between mccain and kennedy. after we were both satisfied and had sufficiently impressed upon each other the particulars of proper senatorial compartment, we ended our discussion and returned to the business of the chamber. i am happy to report that we succeeded in discouraging our colleague from continuing there are get. they both had deserted the chamber, where i was later told when i did not notice their escape, they were rather puzzled and frightened. [laughter] when the next saw ted ambling down the senate corridor, youkilis -- he was filled with laughter, that infectious laughter that could wake the dead, and sure of the most beleaguered sold. he was good company, excellent company. i think i am going to miss him i think i am going to miss him n say.

we disagree on most issues, but i admired his passion for his convictions, his patience with the hard and sometimes dull work of legislating, and his uncanny sense for when differences could be bridged and the calls advanced by degrees. he was a fierce advocate, and no senator would oppose him in debate without at least a bit of trepidation, often more than a little. we all listen to him, of course. he was hard to ignore. when we agreed on an issue and work together to make a little progress on an important issue, he was the best ally you could have. you never even had a small doubt that once his word was given and a course of action decided, he would honor the letter and spirit of the agreement. when we work together on the immigration initial -- the immigration issue, we had a meeting with other senators.

we would need for a few minutes and dance -- we would meet for a few minutes in advance and decide which members of our respective caucus needed a special encouragement or talk. if a member tried to back out of a previous commitment, ted made certain they understood the consequences of their actions. it did not matter to him that the offender was a member of his own caucus. he was the most reliable, most prepared, and the most persistent member of the senate perry -- senate. he took the long view. he never gave up. on most issues, i very much wished he would give up, he taught me to be a better senator. after labor day, i will go back to the set and out -- i will go back to the senate and try to be as persistent and passionate as ted was as passionate for the work. i know i am privileged to serve there, but i think most of my

colleagues would agree the place will not be the same without him. [applause] >> next, you'll have to join and privilege of viewing a video tribute to senator kennedy directed by ken burns and markers all. we have heard other people speaking. tonight, you'll hear about the life of ted kennedy in his own words. ♪ >> the sea, for me, has always

been a metaphor for life. it is constantly evolving, changing, shifting aspect of both nature and life perr. that sort of exposure to the sea is both enriching and enhancing, and it is fun. >> the sea, the wind, the outdoors, it is the most renewing, healing place for him, and always has been. >> that's a good job. >> he loves getting out and sailing. i think he is never more at peace, and perhaps somehow never more in touch with his family and routes and when he is out there sailing. >> i grow up with a family that wants it to achieve in the sense of making a difference in people's lives.

>> i know that ted kennedy has always been unbelievably sensitive to accomplishments of his brothers. but for his inspiration. -- they were his inspiration. >> he has done his very best to pick up where his two brothers left off. >> i think i will be sustained by their memory of our priceless years together and i shall try to carry forward that special commitment to justice, excellence, to correct that distinguish their lives. -- theourage that distinguish their lives. >> he courage to those who were left out, the poor, elderly, our children, those without education. >> he was brought up to believe that to those at which much is given, much is required. but it is better to that. he feels a moral obligation to do everything possible to make this world a better place. >> i have heard senator kennedy

say on many occasions that health care is not a privilege, it is a right. >> as long as i have a voice in the united states senate, it will be for that democratic platform and plank deck provides decent quality health care for all americans as a matter of right, and not a privilege. >> because of ted kennedy, people have things today, they're able to do things today, they are able to reach for the american dream in ways they never imagined. am i first met the center at children's congress through the juvenile diabetes foundation. he asked me to come and testify before congress about stem cell research and support for that. i could help someone almost as much as senator kennedy has helped me, i would be very happy. >> the city here has given the opportunity for the best of our young people to serve in the

community. >> he deeply believes that national service ought to be part of everyday life of every single american. >> he committed right away to introduce new legislation to take programs this to scale to make it possible for young people all over the country to serve our country. >> he deeply believes in service, even as the united states senator, he has read every tuesday at a local school in washington, d.c., as part of an everybody wins program. >> we signed up for this reading program, and i was assigned to senator kennedy is my reading partner. it gave me some one to well for and bmake proud. i'm going to virginia commonwealth university in richmond, majoring and education. >> we're talking about a man of incredible sensitivity. he has always been there for the troupe, understanding the sacrifices they have made, been there for their families.

>> we met senator kennedy for the first time in november, 2003, when we buried her son at arlington national cemetery. >> their son was lost because his humvee was not armored, and a dedicated their lives to making sure that other young men and women did not suffer the same fate. >> john died just after its 20th birthday. senator kennedy agreed to call hearings. within six months of those hearings, all troops in iraq had body armor. to that, i know the senator. i-- i owe the senator. >> they turned that remarkable tragedy into remarkable force for change. >> senator kennedy had been important before was born. it here remembers where his mother was, where his father was. and when his brother, joseph, was killed.

we share a wound that does not heal. and a deep and abiding love of this country. senator kennedy taught me that government can function for the common man. >> his patriotism, his family, his faith, really, those three things, are just intrinsic to the is. i think he has really big shoulders, and he is strong for all of us, and he is funny and he sort of leads the way. he is the pied piper and our family. >> how many sails are up? >> let's count them. what is the one at the tippy top? >> the fishermen? >> the fishermen! [laughter] >> the year i was born, president kennedy torched --

pass the torch to a new generation of americans. it was passed to resume his brother. the battles of the 1960's, to the battles of today, he has carried the torch, lighting the way for all who share his american ideals. >> i see the day when president barack obama and ted kennedy would be moving progressive legislation through the congress to help some of the most vulnerable people in our society. >> we will. the old gridlock and finally make health care what it should be in america, a fundamental right for all, not just an expensive privilege for the few. [applause] >> the people in this country are going to respond to the hopefulness and positivity. it is going to be a very dramatic and important change. it is one i am looking forward

to being part of. we are sailing now. >> whoo-hoo! [applause] >> what a treat. i now have the privilege of welcoming a friend and colleague of senator kennedy's. now the senior senator from the commonwealth of massachusetts, john kerry. [applause] >> vicki, teddy, kiki, tara,

patrick, caroline, thank you for the privilege of sharing some words today about my friend and colleague for a quarter-century. from the moment of fateful diagnosis 14 months ago until he left us, we saw grace and courage, dignity and ability, joy in laughter -- and laughter, and so much love and gratitude lived out on a daily basis that our cup runs over. how devastating the prognosis was as ted left mgh with his family, waiting to all a year

ago. it and that he lived the next 14 months in the way that he did, optimistic, full of hope, striving and accomplishing still, that he did that is in part a miracle, yes, but it is equally a triumph of the love and care that vicki, their children, and also charged him gave him in such abundance. -- and all too cherished him gave him in such abundance. in many ways, it is fair to say that his time in the last months or a gift to all of us. -- were a gift to all of us. the last months of his life or in many ways the sweetest of the seasons because he get to see how much we all love him, respect him, and how unbelievably grateful we are for a stunning years of service and friendship.

and what a year he had, my friends. he accomplished more in that span of time than many senators do in a lifetime. mental-health parity, the tobacco act, health care bill out of his committee. he spoke at the democratic convention. he wrote his memoirs. and he was there for the signing of the edward m. kennedy service america act and receive the medal of freedom from the president and a knighthood from the queen of england. i think many of you who were there would agree with me that perhaps one of the most poignant moments of all was when he was awarded an honorary degree from harvard. his staff through the years was gathered in the front, and friends and family and admirers were scattered throughout the audience and filled the room, and vice-president elect biden was there. you had no idea how hard to had practiced and worked to be able to do that in the convention and

his appearance at the white house, to make a speech that lived up to his high standards. he took the stage at harvard, and for a few moments we all worried that it would be difficult to pull off. then, before you know it, his voice began to soar and the pace picked up and he inspired again with a stunning restatement of his purpose in public life. when it was over, the applause never wanted to end. he stayed on the stage, reaching out to us, and we to him, and we wanted it to stay there forever. i first met ted kennedy when i was 18 years old, as a volunteer for his first senate campaign in the summer before went to college. then i met him again when i returned from vietnam, and we veterans and camped on the mall in washington. it was ted kennedy who had the courage to come down to the mall one day and listen to us talk

about vietnam. we were controversial, but ted broke the barriers, and other senators followed. he worked his heart out for me in the presidential race of 2004, and he made the difference in iowa. when we were down in the polls and i was slugging it out, ted brought his humor, his energy, his eloquence to davenport to help melt the snow of that state. there we were, two weeks before the caucuses, and his voice boomed out in this room, "you voted for my brother, you voted for my other brother, you did not vote for me!" [laughter] and as the crowd roared with laughter, ted bellowed, "but we're back here after john kerry, and if you vote for john kerry, i will forgive you!" [laughter] "you can have three out of four," he said," and i will love

you and i will look at iowa," and iowa loved him. we had a lot of fun there. he would open an event and he would say, "i want to talk to about a bold, handsome, intelligent leader who should not only the president but who it should end up on mount rushmore, but enough about me," [laughter] " now i will talk about john kerry." after that tuesday night in november where we fell short in one state, there were ted and vicki sitting in the kitchen with me and to recent boston, ready to concede. he was always there would be needed him. once, when we were at a senate retreat, ted had just spoken. then joe biden caught up to make a point and regina. as joe got more forceful in his

argument, he started chester and took a step towards ted. boom, sunny and/or on their feet, parking -- barking wildly. ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in history, we witnessed a biden rhetorical retreat. [laughter] [applause] i have to tell you, one of my really favorite moments was ted campaigning with my daughter, vanessa, who is here, campaigning in new mexico. they were visiting an indian reservation and the tribal medicine man wanted to bestow a blessing. he took a further enchanted and asked that ted and vanessa stand side by side and extend their hands and bowed their heads. it with the sacred feather, he touched their feet and four heads and their hands.

all the while, chanting away. when he finished, ted lead over to vanessa and whispered, "i think we just got married." [laughter] well, you can imagine. a couple of months later, she got a note from teddy woods said, "no matter what happens, we will always have a new mexico." [laughter] one of the framed notes in ted's senate office was a thank-you from a colleague for a gift, a special edition of "profiles in courage." "i brought it home and reread it. thank you for your inspiration and many courtesies. if the world only new." it was signed by trent lott, republican leader of the senate.

indeed, if anyone -- everyone only knew. when george wallace was wounded in the assassination attempt, the first to visit him was ted kennedy. when joe biden underwent brain surgery for an aneurysm, the first to board the train to wilmington was ted kennedy. when jesse helms announced he had to undergo heart surgery, heartfelt surgery, helms pulled his constituents back in north carolina, it is no piece of cake, but it sure beats listening to said -- to ted kennedy in the senate floor. ted wrote a net 2 jesse sang, "i would be happy to send you notes of my recent speeches if that would help your speedy recovery." [laughter] two weeks ago, when i was in hospital after hip surgery, just like chris dodd, there was ted kennedy on the phone, asking how i was doing with all that he was dealing with. in his life, as we all know, ted knew the dark night of loss.

i think that is why his empathy was global. and deeply personal. after my father died of cancer just days before the convention in 2000, there was a knock at the door, completely unexpected. standing there on the front porch was ted kennedy, a trucking by -- dropping by to hug and talk and pastime. 25 years i was privileged work by his side, learning from the master. over the years, i received under its of handwritten notes from ted, some funny, some touching, a few correcting me, all of them special treasures now. he thanked me for my gift of a catholic study bible, commenting, "my mother would be very grateful to you for keeping me in line." he thanked me for a charter left home after 9/11 when it was hard to get anything in the a.

he wrote, "here is a riddle for you. what you get when you make three calls to the faa, two calls to the secretary of transportation, and two calls to flight support? you get a great trip to boston," his way of saying thank you. he thanked me and my way for the gift of the vintage bottle, concluding, "i just hope that i have aged as well as this wine." the personal touch that ted brought to life extended well beyond the senate colleagues. it reflected the kind of man that he was and the kind of laws that he wrote. for 1000 days in the white house, president kennedy inspired. for 80 days on the presidential campaign trail, robert kennedy gave us reason to believe and hope again. for more than 17,000 days as united states senator, ted kennedy change the course of

history as few others have. without him, there might still be a military draft. the war in vietnam might have lasted longer. there might have been delays in granting the voting rights act were passing medicare or medicaid. soviet jews may have been ignored and who would of been there to help them? without him, we might not have stood up against apartheid is part -- as forcefully as we did, and barriers to fear immigration may still be higher today. if everyone only knew. without ted, 18-year-olds may not be able to vote, there might not be a martin luther king day, increases in the middle mom wage, when it -- it women's sports, the americans with disability act, workplace safety, children's health insurance.

if everyone only knew. he stood against judges who would turn back the clock on constitutional rights, he stood against the war in iraq, his promise to vote, and nearly four decades and all through his final days, he labored with all of his might to make health care it right for all americans, and we will do that in his honor. [applause] in these last months, every visit ted made to the senate elicited an unstoppable outpouring of affection. tears welled up in the eyes of republicans and democrats. everyone missed his skills, it is booming call to arms and conscience. on his last visit, chris dodd

and i sat in the back row beside his desk and listened to teddy regale us with an imitation of his efforts to practice throwing out a ball for the red sox's opening game. he laughed and poke fun at how reluctant his hand muscles were to obey his commands. i was in awe of this moment of humility and self-deprecating humor in the face of genuine frustration. as he so often said over the years, "we have to take issue seriously, but never take ourselves too seriously." he was a master of that, too, and one of the great lessons that he taught me. and end, his incomparable gift was his love of life and his commitment to make better at the life of the world. in between his time changing the world, he found time to capture it a marvelous paintings.

he was a talented, gifted artist, and an incurable romantic. who else would have thought to hide their engagement ring on a coral reef and sank croix as they were swimming and diving so that vicki could find it? it never occurred to him that the waters might wa the ring away. [laughter] one thing is certain, their love and heard from then until now, and it will indoor forever. it -- their love endured and it will contiue. like his brothers before him, salt water was in his veins. teddy lived by the sea and he lived joyously on it. the evening that he passed away, i looked out at the ocean, where gray sky met creigh water, no verizon -- grace died met gray water. it was not a time of sailing.

the next afternoon as i sat at his home, i looked out at a perfect nantucket sound, and i thought to myself with certainty, he is on a schooner now. he is sailing. jack, a joke, bobby on the foredeck, eunice, kathleen, pat trading stories with their parents. and teddy at the helm, steering his steady course. ceylon, my friend. -- sail on, my friend. sail on. [applause]

>> the next speaker is one who has seen center kennedy's name -- senator kennedy's name and the name of his colleagues and another great american who sat across the aisle and served our country well in the united states senate. please welcome senator orrin hatch. [applause] >> this is a tremendous honor to be in this wonderful city and state. i am so grateful to be here. vicki, teddy, patrick, kara, ethel and jean, and all the rest of the kennedy family, it is a great honor for me to be with you here today to talk about a

man that i have so much regard for, so much reverence for, with whom i have done battle for 33 years, and i have enjoyed every minute of it. like to fighting brothers, to be honest with you. there are a lot of things i could say about ted kennedy's career, but what i would like to do is take a few minutes to talk about ted kennedy, the man, and ted kennedy, my friend. by the time came to the senate in 1977, teddy was already in a giant among senators. as a republican from utah, i stayed -- said numerous times on the campaign trail that came to washington to fight ted kennedy. in fact, i used to say that kennedy's name was my very best fund-raiser in the country. when i came to washington, i had not the slightest idea that i

would potentially have a strong working relationship with and love for the man that i came to fight. if you would have told me that he would become one of my closest friends in the world, i probably would suggested that you need professional help. but that is exactly what happened. people have called teddy and me the odd couple, which was certainly true. there are few men with whom i have had less in common. ted was more than a famous well- to-do family in boston. he attended private schools and harvard university, politically liberal and liberal in his life style, at least until he married vicki, to set him straight, by the way. i'd report, in a working-class family in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. -- i grew up poor, and a working-class family in pittsburgh, pennsylvania.

i was laughing at that. great school. while ted often played the role of the affable irishman, i was the teetotaling mormon bishop. he was so proud one day to discover that i am also scotched irish. yet despite our differences, we were able to work out a lot of things together. that was due in large part to teddy's willingness to recognize and work with those who shared his goals, even if they had different ideas of how to reach those goals. one of the defining moments as a senator came when i met two families from utah. the parents of these families were humble and hard-working. there were prudent and frugal. they were able to provide food and shelter for their children. the one necessity they cannot afford was health insurance. this is what inspired me to get

my work in ted in creating the schip program, which continues to provide health care and coverage for millions of children throughout the world. [applause] and which passed with bipartisan support, even though it came at seemingly an inopportune time politically speaking. over the years, we worked successfully to get both republicans and democrats on board for causes such as assistance to aids victims. we passed the three aids bills, equal rights for the disabled. our latest cooperation came this year and act that is designed to and how or private citizens of all ages to volunteer in their communities. i named the bill after ted. -- is designed to empower private citizens of all ages to

volunteer in their communities. i did not think any of these bills could have passed if not for his willingness to put partisan, by partisanship ahead of partisanship. in 1962, president john f. kennedy famously said, "we must think and act not only for the moment of our time. i am reminded of the story of a great french marshal who asked a guard plant a tree. the gardner said it was slow- growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. at the marshall replied, "in that case, there is no time to boost. plant it this afternoon." the president's wisdom was not lost by his own missed brother. the force of will driven by the sense of immediacy that he brought to every endeavor, ted kennedy had the ability to take actions today that not bear future until the distant tomorrow. like all good leaders, when he struck out on a mission, he was

able to inspire many to follow him until the job was done. no matter how long it took or hard to put -- how far the task was, working with ted on a difficult piece of legislation, it could be utterly fatiguing. more often, and this is what most of us have worked closely with him or against him will miss, ted kennedy would bring a sense of joint even the most difficult, contentious legislative negotiating session. while many of my more conservative constituents have run me over the coals for just being willing to sit in the same room with teddy kennedy, the truth is that he and i did not agree on much. we did not agree on a lot of things. we sat next to each other in the health committee for the better part of two decades. some may not remember, but there was a time when smoking was allowed during the committee meetings and hearings. during that time, you could always tell when teddy and i were in an argument by the

amount of cigar smoke that he blew my way as a non-smoking mormon. [laughter] if there was a particularly strong disagreement, he would just sit back in his chair, puffing smoke my way, giving me an actual had a capital along with the poor little honey cakes -- giving in actual headache to go along with the political headaches. even in the press, teddy would lay intimate with the harshest, red meat, liberal rhetoric that you could imagine. just minutes later, he would come over and put his arm around me and ask, "if how did i do it, orrin?" i will not tell you every response that i made to him. it is was not spiteful. teddy knew how to push people's buttons. it was one of the qualities that made him such an effective senator. for those who are lucky enough to become his friends, he was

the source of no small amount of laughter. it was late 1980's when i knew that i had finally made it into teddy's inner circle. i was working out on the senate floor one day when teddy came and asked if i was going to be at his party that night. i am ashamed to admit that i had been in the senate over a decade and i had not heard about the annual kennedy staff christmas party. those who had been to one or more of those parties will agree a different side of teddy was often on display on those nights. at that first party i attended, teddy came by and did a surprisingly accurate and other recent burst -- and accurate impersonation of elvis presley, tight jumpsuit at all. he looked awful, as far as i was concerned. [laughter] then he joined the staff, performing skits, making fun of ronald reagan, dan quayle, and even himself. it is too bad he was never asked

to host "saturday night live." serving in the senate really does not leave much time to do that sort of thing. just ask john mccain. [laughter] whenever teddy and i would at enter a bill together, he would tell reporters that if he and i were on the same bill, it was obvious that one of us had not read it. [laughter] this always got a huge laugh, as it did now, and i would pretend it was the first time i ever heard him say that. [laughter] one time, i decided to come prepared. after he made his remark. i put out a poppy. a copy of the bill that was heavily pilot and said, here you go, ted, you can have my copy, the import parts are underlined. i think he got as big a laugh at of that is all the reporters. by complimenting teddy's sense of humor was his generosity.

all one occasion, on a late night in the senate, i have to say that teddy was feeling no pain at that time. he was with his friend, chris dodd, my friend. [laughter] i did what my former member ask me to do. he was frank manson, and he had just become the mormon church mission president in boston, mass., presiding over a young mormon missionaries. when he called me, frank manson, he said, "could i ask you a favor?" i said, sure. he said, "would you be willing to come and speak to my young missionaries here in boston?" i said for you, i will. he said, to ask another favor? can't you ask teddy kennedy to

come and speak, too? i said, i don't know, i will ask him. he said, to ask another favor? will you ask teddy get nathaniel hall for the meeting. i said, my goodness, alaska. on this evening, when teddy and chris were feeling no pain, i walked off the floor and take put his arm around me any said, i want you to come out and go sailing with me, do this, i said, great. i said, ted, i have a favor to ask of you. he said, you do, what is that? i said, you remember frank metz and, my administrative assistant. he said, good guy, good guy. i said, he is now the mission president of the mormon church, 200 young mormon missionaries in boston, massachusetts. my home town. i said, yeah. [laughter] forgive me. i have asked vicki to forgive me

already. he said, what about it? i said, well, he would like you and me to come up and speak to his young missionaries. he said, done, just like that. i said, i have another favored ask you. he said, what is that? well, he would like to get you to get nothing. he said, done! the next day, got into the office and i got this nice letter from teddy and i got it to him. i saw him later in the day and he was reading the letter and his hands were shaking. he said, what else did i agree to that night? [laughter] [applause] i start telling these things, my eyes water, my nose runs. it is a mess. in any event, teddy kennedy and orrin hatch appeared before 200

young mormon missionaries at nathaniel hall, and it will never forget the tremendous, i trusted talk that he gave to them on that day -- altruistic talk that he gave to them on that day. all i can say is that it was really something. he did not try to weasel out of it. instead, he gave a beautiful speech. i was impressed. as usual. this missionaries will never forget that. though they were of a different faith, he commended them for a willingness to serve the cause bigger than themselves and think them for their selflessness. this is just one example of the graciousness that my dear friend -- of my dear friend ted kennedy. there was another time when the mormon church was nearing completion of its temple here. i was approached by several people working in the temple and informed that the city would not allow a spire to be placed on

the top of the temple. with an angel on top. as is customary on mormon temples. i immediately called ted and asked for help. not long after that, he called me back and said, "all of western massachusetts will see the angel gabriel on the top of the mormon temple." [laughter] though i was tempted to leave it alone, had to inform teddy it was actually a different ages, a prominent figure in the face. at that point, terry replied, " -- tandy replied, "does this mean i'm going to get another book of mormon for christmas?" of course he did. teddy was always respectful of my faith and that of others, but everyone around us knew that i like to give a more hard time. one thing that has been

recounted and attributes of the last few days has been his dedication to his family. from his own children, to his mother, to his nieces and nephews, siblings, i can attest to this. after i had spent some time getting to know the kennedy family, eunice started interceding for me when ted and i disagreed. i love to this day eunice kennedy shriver. [applause] and i love their family. let me just say, bobby is one of my best friends, and so are the other shriver family members. what they do for this country and what eunice did is beyond belief. whenever we were not getting along really well, eunice told teddy one day, she said, "i do

not want you mistreating that nice young senator hatch and you talk." -- from utah." it was wonderful to have her stand up for me. when he and i had really tough trouble reaching agreement on really important occasions, and he would get recalcitrant and baldheaded and his back would go into the air, i would say, ok, but teddy, i'm going to go see eunice. he would say, oh, no, we will work out. she had a great effect on both of us and we both love her very much. the love he had for his family provided him with inside and empathy for others, reflected on his views for policy in dealing with his friends. when i lost my parents, -- i might add when teddy lost his wonderful mother, i snuck appear to boston. i did not tell my was coming. i just thought i would sneak

into the back of this beautiful catholic church, just pay my respects. but they called me and he pulled me right up close to the family. when i lost my parents, ted was there with sympathetic words and sincere sympathy. he was a man experienced with facing family tragedy, having grieved more than his share. yet he became stronger for it. he and vicki flew to utah to attend my mother's funeral. i did not the there were coming. it was a gesture that will always mean a lot to me. it was in the church that i had to give a eulogy. he was right in the front row with my family, and i just gave him the business as much as everybody else. it was wonderful, and i will never forget it. i love vicki kennedy as well. she has been a tremendously wonderful wife to my friend ted. [applause]

i said publicly that have been present to witness two major changes and ted kennedy's life and career. the first was after the elections of 1980. it freed from the pressures that come with presidential ambitions, teddy return to the senate with a singular focus on accomplishing his legislative goals, on building consensus, and doing good for the american people. the second change was, for those who knew teddy, much more profound. it was when he met and married vicki. before he met her, he was often burdened with the stresses that came with his life. yet whether it is being patriarch to one of the most visible families in that country, are being a prominent legislator -- legislator, it seemed that teddy had a life that most people only dream of. i think at times, the pressures that came with that life left him unable to enjoy it.

that all changed when he met vicki. she was the love and light of teddy's life. their marriage in many respects save him. he was forever a different man. he was still a fierce, stubborn leader in the senate he always was, but it was clear from that time on that he enjoyed his life and the role that he played far more than he had in the past. their marriage made him a better man and a better senator. iwell, i remember one time he gt mad as heck at me, and he started yelling at me. finally i said, wait a minute, i wrote a song for you and vicki. he said, you did? i said yeah, do you want to hear it. he forgot all about his anger. it took out a cassette and a platform. he said, i have to have that. it was called, "souls along the

way." here i was, working as usual, on july 3 of that year, in salt lake city. i get this phone call from ted kennedy, out on his boat, as usual. he said, orrin, i just played that song for vicki. she is over there crying at the end of the boat. she loved it. i said, that is great. what are you working like i have to work? he just laughed, because he knew that his life was far different from mine, and i laughed, too, because i knew it as well. when my way back today, let me just say, i thought about our relationship and how much i sorely miss him. a couple months ago, we met for our last hour together, had pictures taken together. that means so much to me. i have to set it was a wonderful occasion.

i miss fighting in public and joking with him in the background. i miss all the things that we knew we could do together and he could do with others as well. on the way back today, you know, i just thought about the apostle paul, the shortly before his death row, "i am not really to be offered. at the time of my departure is at hand. i fought a good fight. i have finished my course. i have kept the faith." so as i came back, just wanted to write a few thoughts down in my own handwriting. i hope you will not mind if i read them to you just before finish. some are weak, some are strong. some people go along to get along. some people are larger than life. some are born in poverty. some are born in wealth.

some are like a flashing light that dissipates in the air. some are like the gift of life who never find a spare. some fulfill their destiny. others lose each day. some are filled with daily joy. all others waste away. -- while others waste away. some are like my liberal friend. god be with you until we meet again. in the end, the good day is one. he leaves the earth and better place. in the end, we can all smile. he cared for all the human race. in the end, we all look back and look back and see many things. in the end, we all look up. he is carried there on angel's wings. in the end, those in repo's are greeting as we speak. in the end, the darling rose no longer has to seek.

i will meet -- i will miss my irish friend. god be with you, until we meet again. god bless this family. god bless you. thank you. [applause] >> well, we all know how much senator kennedy love song, and now it is my pleasure to introduce a vocalist that he admired so very much. brian stokes mitchell, accompanied on the piano, and a

song that captures a lot of what tonight is all about. [applause] >> thank you. senator kennedy really love the arts, and those of us in the arts have really loved senator kennedy also. it is how we met but it, through music, through singing. it was rare that we would not greet each other with not a hello but a spontaneous duet of "some enchanted evening" or "what a beautiful morning." to my heart and mind, he is one of my favorite singers ever, because he sang with his heart, singing notes is easy. singing from your heart is hard. he sang as he lived his life, as he did everything else. there is a song that i sang for him at one of his birthday is quite a few years ago, and i cannot sing it now without thinking of him.

it is about an impossible dream, somebody who dreams the impossible, to make the impossible possible. the quest is what is important. i have to say now that senator kennedy and this song will forever share a very special place in my heart. ♪ to deram the impossible dream. to fight the unbeatable foe to bear with unbearable sorrow to ride where the brave they're not go -- dare not go to right the hon. wrong -

unrightable wrong to try when your arms are too weary to reach the unreachable star this is my qwest to follow that star no matter how hopeless no matter how far to fight for the rights without question nor pause to be willing to march into hell for heavenly calls and i know if i will only be true to this glorious quest

that my heart will live peaceful and calm when i am laid to my rest and the world will be better for this that one man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars this is my quest to follow that star no matter how hopeless no matter how far to fight for the rights without question nor pause to be willing to march into

hell for a heavenly cause and i know if i will only be true to this glorious quest that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when i am lead to my rest and the world will be better for this that one man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach

the unreachable star ♪ [applause] . >> senator kennedy's grandfather, as we all know, has

presided over the city many years ago. the senator enjoyed working in friendly and warm relationship with the incumbent mayor of the city of boston. we welcome him this evening. [applause] >> thank you, paul. paul didn't ask me to sing. i got thrown out of the choir in the eighth grade, i have not saying cents. -- sang since. ted kennedy was my friend. i feel tremendous sadness today. but also a sense of pride.

the history books will show that boston wasn't just a cradle of liberty. it berthed champions, too. senator edward m. kennedy was born here. many came from the boston neighborhood where he now rests. together, with all bostonian says, i am not morning -- bostonians, i am mourning our native son. the educated -- they are educated in our schools. they knew his work. our thoughts and prayers are with