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guys, you can do this. just pick up the phone and call. you will lose weight. this hour on a special edition of the "big picture," remembering the life of one of this country's greatest senators, an american icon, ted kennedy. >> the work goes on. the cause endures. the hope still lives. and the dream shall never die. >> from camelot to kennedy's remarkable legacy, we will look at the impact he's made on american politics and political campaigns. >> where was george. >> plus, moving tributes from across this corrupt and around the world and new words from the president who kennedy personally chose to carry the torch. >> in the united states senate, i can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle.

his seriousness of purpose was pert pet you'lly matched by humility, warmth and good cheer. >> we will take a closer look at the kennedy/obama relationship and the big difference kennedy made just a year ago. >> i feel change in the air! >> and how kennedy's deaths will shape what he called the cause of his life, health care reform. >> i come to the senate floor today to speak about the health insurance. >> all this on a special hour, remembering the life of senator edward kennedy. >> good afternoon, everyone. i'm tamron hall live in new york. >> and i'm david shuster live in washington. >> david, at this hour as we said, the nation mourns the passing of senator ted kennedy. we in fact have a life picture right now outside the kennedy compound in hyannis port, massachusetts where people have been all day leaving flowers and tributes in honor of senator kennedy. and this morning, flags were

lowered to half-staff at the white house and also the u.s. capitol where ted kennedy served as a senator for 47 incredible years of his life. and friday, the senator will lie in repose at the john f. kennedy presidential library in boston, his funeral held saturday at our lady of perpetual help basilica in mission hill, the section of boston. he will be laid to rest with his brothers at arlington national cemetery. >> tamron, kennedy will be remembered as "the liberal lion" of the senate and the haunted bearer of the kennedy torch off two of his brothers were assassinated, president john f. kennedy in '63 and presidential candidate robert kennedy in '68. while so many americans think about those kennedys and wonder what might have been, ted kennedy was with us for 77 years. and in countless ways, he lifted the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the united states and around the world. >> david to his family, kennedy was the loving palt patriarch.

a family statement released today says in part we've lost the irrelaysable center of our family and joyous light in our lives but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perfect severance will live on in our hearts forever. most americans knew ted kennedy as the senior senator from massachusetts. hess achievements including health care, civil rights, education, family leave access for the disabled, improving working conditions. senator kennedy, by the way, wrote 2500 bills, 300 of them becoming law. >> he was also a driving force for peace in ireland and a persistent critic of the war in iraq. in the midst of it all, kennedy dominated the national political stage, a stage that had the largest audience every four years at the democratic national convention. it was a year ago today when kennedy, already diagnosed with brain cancer, came to denver. he not only appeared but he summoned the energy to seek and give a final kennedy convention speech. so we begin with a look back at

ted kennedy and the environment he owned, those memorable democratic conventions. >> in 1980, it was ted kennedy who drivered in defeat what historians call one of the best convention speeches ever. >> for me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on. the cause endures. the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. >> for nine months, kennedy had battled incumbent president jimmy carter for the democratic nomination but in the end, carter won. and kennedy was relegated to a supporting role. >> may it be said of our party in 1980 that we found our faith again. >> ted kennedy first appeared on the national scene during his brother's 1960 presidential campaign. he was a 28-year-old floor manager at the democratic convention helping john kennedy secure the nomination.

>> and we stand today on the edge of a new front tier, the front year of the 1960s. >> there are hot times brewing on the massachusetts political scene. >> in 1962, with jfk in the white house, ted kennedy ran for senator of massachusetts and won. in 1963, his brother was assassinated. and it was ted, robert and first lady jackie kennedy who led the president's funeral procession. >> in 1968, robert kennedy ran for president. >> thanks to all of you. now it's on to chicago and lets win there. >> reporter: and he was assassinated the night of the california primary. later that summer at the democratic convention anticipation swelled that ted kennedy might try to step into the void. >> conventions are great rumor mills. but i do not expect senator edward kennedy to be a candidate in 1960. >> and in fact, ted kennedy was not. and he was not a candidate in 1972 either. >> it was john kennedy who summoned every citizen to ask

what he could do for his country and so will george mcgovern. >> by 19 , ted kennedy had become a fixture at the democratic convention. still it was an awkward moment when the he and jimmy carter did the handshake tango. in 19 4, kennedy surprised some democrats by deciding not to run for president but he still tried to help the party cut down ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan should not be the only senior citizen in this country who does not have to worry about the cost of medical care. >> ladies and gentlemen, my uncle, ted kennedy. >> in 1988, kennedy offered some of the more memorable lines about the republican nominee george h.w. bush. >> some people say don't count your chickens before they're hatched. well, the republicans have already hatched their chicken in this campaign and george bush is a dead duck.

>> in 1992, ted kennedy invoked the memories of his brothers in urging the nation to support bill clinton. >> my brothers had every gift but length of years. the years have been left to us. >> that was 17 years ago. ted kennedy, of course, went on to deliver rousing speeches at for more conventions again for bill clinton and al gore, john kerry and, of course, barack obama last year. politics though is not on the mind right now of kennedy's colleagues and friends. they've been focused today on his human an and the. >> that's right and the tributes have been coming in all day long. many people waking up hearing this very sad news but we have for you vice president joe biden and senator chris dodd. >> so many of his -- so many of

his foes embrace him because they know he made them bigger. he made them more graceful. by the way in which he conducted himself. >> the country lost a great advocate. there are millions of people who were around this guy every day to stand up for him. decades to come, history will talk about his legislative accomplishments and the difference he made in public policy. for me, i lost my best friend in the senate. just a great friend. was here many occasions right here on this river. and so it's been a long year. a year and three months. but he died peacefully about 11:30. i talked to mrs. kennedy a little while ago, and he fought like a lion this last year to stay alive. and to be around. >> and there was this today from nancy reagan.

>> and david, we've got this from fellow massachusetts senator john kerry in part it says "he taught us how to fight, how to laugh, how to treat each other and how to turn idealism into action." >> and this statement issued by senator robert byrd, fellow democrat of west virginia. i had hoped and prayed this day would never come. my heart and soul weeps at the loss of my best friend in the senate, my beloved friends ted kennedy. >> we got our first look at "time" magazine's special commemorative issue honoring his life and legacy, a powerful cover there for a man with a powerful and very influential life. david, you know, just listening to senator dodd and the vice president and the choking back the tears, that is a part of the humanity you just mention that had everybody is talking about today. the legislative record will last the test of time.

it will be in our nation's history and kids will go to washington, d.c. and learn about senator kennedy and also in their books, but to see that raw emotion from people that he talked with regularly and saw every day, it's very powerful. >> absolutely. everybody has lessons and anecdotes from ted kennedy. the one thing we keep hearing all day long, that ted kennedy didn't dabble in the small stuff, the petty personal attacks. that was not him. i think that's why so many people are feeling so sad not only for the loss of him but for the loss of perhaps a political era. so much to talk about. are you watching msnbc special coverage of the death of ted kennedy. >> up next his special relationship. it's been talked about a lot with president obama. we're going to take a look back at kennedy's endorsement of president obama in 2008, one of the most electrifying moments of the year at a critical turning point in that race. >> and later, kennedy's commitment to what he called the cause of his life, health care.

what happens now to the debate dominating the country's political dialogue? we'll talk to howard dean. >> plus a closer look at the tragedies in the kennedy family. we're going it play some of ted kennedy's eulogy for his own brother robert and look who might now carry the torch for this first family of america, the end of camelot some are saying today. i'm racing css country in this small sidecar, but i've still got room for the internet. with my new netbook from at&t. with its built-in 3g network, it's fast and small, so it goes places other laptops can't. i'm bill kurtis, and i've got plenty of room for the internet. and the nation's fastest 3g network. gun it, mick. (announcer) sign up today and get a netbook for $199.99 after mail-in rebate. with built-in access to the nation's fastest 3g network. only from at&t.

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the compassionly battle others and do so peerlessly on the senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet, still maintain warm friendships across party lines. and that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy. >> and that was of course, president obama today praising the life and legacy of senator ted kennedy. >> and tamron, as we've been talking the relationship between mr. obama and mr. kennedy was one of the most interesting and significant in politics in recent years. when mr. obama arrived in the u.s. senate in 2005, he immediately south out kennedy's advice and counsel. kennedy had been a long-time supporter and advocate of bill and hillary clinton and kennedy was lobbied hard bit clintons for an endorsement of hillary's campaign last year. kennedy waited and waited more and then started hearing from his own family members about their energy and enthusiasm for barack obama. and just two days after the

south carolina primary, a battle that kennedy thought the clintons have made too device i be, kennedy decided to step in and publicly endorse obama. the scene was american university here in washington and it was one of the most electrifying moments of the '0 campaign. >> there was another time when another young candidate was running for president and challenging america to cross a new front year. he faced public criticism from the preceding democratic president who was widely respected in the party. harry truman said we needed someone with greater experience and added, may i urge you to be patient. and john kennedy replied, the world is changing. the old ways will not do. it's time for a new generation of leadership.

so it is with barack obama. he has lit a spark of hope amid the fierce urgency of now. i believe that a wave of change is moving across america if we do not turn aside, if we dare to set our course for the shores of hope, we together will go beyond the divisions of the past and find our place to build the america of the future. my friends, i ask you to join in this historic journey to have the courage to choose change. it's time again for a new generation of leadership. it is time now for barack obama. >> and exact one year ago, kennedy made a remarkable appearance at the democratic national convention in denver. >> for me, this is a season of

hope. new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many and not just for the few. new hope, and this is the cause of my life. new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every american north, south, east, west, young, old, will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege! we can meet these challenges with barack obama. yes, we can, and finally, yes, we will. >> dan ball stz national political reporter for the "washington post" who has written extensively about the

obama campaign. thanks for joining us. you've reported a lot on the relationship between ted kennedy and barack obama. as we look back, what stands out about the most about '0 and that relationship. >> a couple things. first of all is simply the significance of the kennedy endorsements of barack obama. it came as you all noted just after the south carolina primary, the mostdy veesive of all the primaries during the long battle between hillary clinton and barack obama. there were very difficult and angry phone calls between ted kennedy and bill clinton about the endorsement process. in the end, kennedy decided that barack obama would offer the country the kind of hope, change, and possibility of moving to a new politics that he admired. he obviously felt he was in the tradition of his two late brothers, john and robert kennedy and so the moment of that endorsement provided barack obama with unbelievable energy around his candidacy, which i think was critical in sustaining him and carrying him to the nomination.

>> and i guess we should point out it wasn't just this moment that we're seeing at american university but ted kennedy relished the opportunity in the sprij to travel around sometimes on his own and seemed so fired up when he was in front of democratic crowds urging them to vote for barack obama. >> that's exactly right. he was a great campaigner on his own. he loved to go out around the country. he was very well loved particularly in these democratic audiences. he knew how to generate enthusiasm. he knew how to spark a crowd. he knew how to give a rousing political speech and he was more than willing to do that for senator obama through the spring and into the summer until he was taken down by illness. >> dan and david, we just got a note in that his desk on the senate floor is now draped in black with flowers and a single sheet of paper with a robert frost poem on it. we're working to confirm which poem it is. but beyond the politics of it, dan there have been reports that senator kennedy was concerned even about barack obama's safety as he was with his own brothers when he saw their assassination.

what does barack obama now do with the inspiration that's been left by senator kennedy and i'm sure words of wisdom that we will never know shared between the two of them? >> i think it's a very important question. the bond between the two was very, very strong. senator obama now president obama was deeply indebted to ted kennedy for that endorsements for his friendship, for his counsel and guidance that he offered all the time he was in the senate and running for president. as part of the endorsement, kennedy said to him, i want you to agree that you would make health care a top priority of your administration in your first year. at the time, obama readily agreed and i think as a result of senator kennedy's passing last night, i think obama will be even more determined to try to accomplish that for the memory of ted kennedy. >> fascinating relationship. thank you very much, dan, for your insight. we appreciate it. david, when you think about it, one year to the day, almost to the hour, senator kennedy passed

away after giving that speech at democratic national convention. you wonder about life and the messages and i don't want to get into a whole spiritual analysis of that, but one year to the day that he got out there and said there was new hope and this was the cause of his life to have health care reform come to the united states. >> tamron, when you talk about spirituality for so many democrats ted kennedy is such an incredible figure for them that as dan was pointing out it did give so much validation in such a device sieve political campaign that kennedy was giving his imbritain to barack obama and saying this is the future. it energized the democratic party to the clintons' chagrin to a certain extent. it's a remarkable political moment. >> it is remarkable. we'll have much more on senator kennedy just ahead plus some of the day's other news that we're watching for you. >> be sure to collect out a special hour long edition of nightly news with brian

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welcome back, everyone. we will get back to special coverage of the death of senator ted kennedy in a moment. >> first some of the other news making head lines today. despite renewed calls for his resignation, south carolina governor mark sanford says he will not step down. the state's lieutenant governor says he would step in and offered to stay out of the 2010 gubernatorial race if sanford resigned. sanford says now is not the time. >> i'm not going to be railroaded out of this office by political opponent or folks that were never fans of mine in the first place. or put a different way, a lot of what's going on now is pure politics, plain and simple. >> sanford's admission to an extramarital affair with an

argentinean woman has many questioning if some of his travel was on the taxpayers' dime. >> tropical storm danny has formed in the atlantic right now about 145 miles east of nassau, bahamas and about 775 miles south of cape hatteras, north carolina. danny is on track to clip the u.s. east coast they say over the weekend. >> and there's good news on the housing front. the commerce department says new home sales rose 9.6% in july, beating expectations. analysts say it's another sign the housing market is on the mend. >> all right. those are a few stories we're watching for you. up next, much more on the coverage of the passing of senator ted kennedy. >> we will look at the senator's unfinished business, health care. it was the cause he had been working for his whole life. can real reform get passed without his leadership. >> we'll ask former dnc chairman, howard dean. once you've mastered the complexities of a headache...

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♪ no problem that we have here in massachusetts is more important than providing medical care for our senior citizens. i believe that it is essential that we provide a medical care program which is financed under social security. >> welcome back, everyone. i'm tamron hall live in new york. >> i'm david shuster live in washington. supporters of health care reform lost one of the most passionate long-time and vocal advocates today. >> david, when senator ted kennedy endorsed barack obama for president, he was promised that health care reform would be at the top of the president's

agenda. senator kennedy spoke about his passion for health care reform at the democratic convention a year ago yesterday. >> for me, this is a season of hope. new hope for a justice and fair prosperity for the many and not just for the few. new hope, and this is the cause of my life. new hope. that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every american north, south, east, west, young, old will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege! >> senator kennedy was not as involved in the health care negotiations as seld have liked certainly as he was southerly missed by his senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle. >> no person in that institution is indispensable, but ted

kennedy comes as close to being indispensable as any individual i've ever known in the senate. it's huge that his absence not only because of my personal affection for him but because i think that health care reform might be in a very different place today. >> joining us on the phone dr. howard dean, former chairman of the democratic party and governor of vermont, also the author of "howard dean's prescription for real health care reform." thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> we just heard senator kennedy saying he hoped the old gridlock would be remove and that health care would be provide for everyone. we are seeing just that, the same gridlock he saw since the late '60s as he started the fight for health care reform. >> well, i don't think we are seeing gridlock. we're seeing a tremendous fight going on, but so far this bill has been through four out of the five committees it needs to go through. i think it's pretty evident at this point that the democrats are going to deliver health care one way or the other and if the republicans don't wish to be

helpful, we can do it by ourselves. we have the votes do it. we had a huge mandate in the last election, very big majorities in both houses a democratic president who kept his word to senator kennedy and did put this at the top of his agenda. so i think this is a pretty big day. it's a sad day for america and the kind of day that ted kennedy would want us to have, a day of resolve. >> my apologies for not giving you an opportunity to share with our audience about how you feel about the passing. i jumps into health care. i know for all of you and the americans watching, this is not just about that debate. >> no, it's not. he's such an enormous figure and such an extraordinary person, i wrote someone this morning, he sat next to my mother at a wedding. my mother was a republican until 2004. and afterwards, he wrote her a handwritten note and she have course, was totally captivated and became a big ted kennedy fan. i think he had that effect on lots of americans over the years. >> governor dean, as we've been

talking about senator kennedy, so many have talked about he was in the end pragmatic and would negotiate. isn't it true his committee was 100% behind the public option as far as the democrats? and i wonder if senator kennedy, what he would think, what you think he would believe about the idea of negotiating the public option away for the sake of compromise. >> well, i don't think that's going to happen first of all. i don't think anybody's going to do that. there's some talk about it and that's not where it's going to end up. the vast majority of democrats in the democratic caucus want a public option. the vast majority of democrats in the house want a public option. and there's going to be a public option in the bill. i do think, and i will say nobody is in indispensable in the united states senate but chris dodd has done a terrific job. i know he was talking to senator kennedy on a very regular basis as this went through and his bill certainly has ted kennedy's fingerprints all over it, but this committee did a great job. and they produced a terrific bill and it's a bill that i

think the senate is for the most part going to pass in the fall. >> governor, what about those who say that president obama will have to do what similar to lbj did, going to congress and saying we've got to do this for senator kennedy as it was done for the civil rights movement for his brother? will we hear that kind of conversation as those are stirring words to hear this man say it's a cause of my life. >> you know, i actually think that the president obama would be very willing to do that but i don't think he has to. ted kennedy had a 46-year career in the united states senate. and many have known him for decades. and so you almost don't have to say that at this point. i think everybody gets the idea. this is the time to do it. you know, we've lost a huge star and a huge pillar of strength but in some ways you know, after life is over, the pillar of

strength becomes even stronger and one of the things i wrote this morning was that he will be at that signing ceremony. >> governor, thank you so much. we greatly appreciate your thoughts on the passing of senator kennedy, as well as his influence in this health care debate even after he's gone. thank you, sir. >> tamron, in his final days, senator kennedy, of course, appeared to be thinking about his successor just days before he dirksd kennedy or at least a family member on his behalf sent a letter to massachusetts governor deval patrick asking the governor to address the issue. i am now writing to you about an issue that concerns me deeply, the continuity of representation for massachusetts should a vacancy occur. i also believe it is vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the senate." governor patrick, who says he supports senator kennedy's proposal joins us live from boston and governor patrick what, are you going to do to try

to push forward senator kennedy's last wishes? >> well, david, thank you. first, the first thing i think i'm going to do and that we in the commonwealth are going to do is take a moment to reflect on the life and extraordinary contributions of this remarkable statesman and to pray for the comfort of his wife vicki and their family and all of the kennedy family. i think the proposal the senator has made is a quite modest one when you consider the fact that we have a special election in our statute today which would come up in about five months' time. i support that. so did senator kennedy and all we're talking about is having the position filled by an interim appointment for the five months between now and that special election. and i hope to see the legislature take that up and take it up quickly and if that bill comes to me, i will sign it. >> governor, there have been some who said this would not be a fair process. what kind of support or even pushback are you getting now? >> well, you know, we changed our laws for appointments of

senators in the event of a vacancy in the last several years. and there are all kinds of claims about partisan motivations for that. i wasn't there. so i don't share in that history. all i'm doing is looking at how profoundly important the proposals around health care, climate change and others before the congress today. and how important it is that massachusetts have two voices contributing to that debate and particularly on health care where we with the senator's help are far ahead of every other state in terms of a real experiment to change health care. and have delivered now on coverage to 97% plus of our residents. there are a lot of lessons that massachusetts can lan offer to the national debate. >> and governor patrick, as do you have the sort of discussion about the regularcy and how to fill the senate seat, i wonder if you could put in some perspective for people not from massachusetts how hev the kennedy legacy is how important

it is to your state and what do you think that means in the months ahead? >> you know in many respects, david, i think that the most important tribute that we can offer to senator kennedy and to his life's work is to pass national health reform and to do it right. and there's some very thoughtful proposals and a lot of thoughtful debate in the congress and elsewhere in the country about this. it's a moment in time i think we should see. >> thank you very much, massachusetts governor deval patrick. thank you for making time for us. still ahead, a look back, david as the era of camelot. >> that's right. how senator kennedy's death marks another tragic some would say premature loss for a political dynasty. >> the kennedys are not in public service to make money. we have paid too high a price. i'm here on this tiny little plane, and guess what... i've still got room for the internet.

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talk to your doctor about prescription treatment options. and make this time, your time. on friday, senator ted kennedy will lie in reposes an the john f kennedy library if boston. his funeral will be held saturday in the mission hills section of boston and he'll be laid to rest with his brothers at arlington national cemetery here in washington. the death of ted kennedy has cut one of the last ties to era

known as camelot. >> david, first lady jacqueline kennedy popularized that phrase after saying how much her husband love the musical camelot. camelot, don't let it be forgot that for one brief shining moment, there was camelot. the image of camelot became synonymous with the best days of the kennedy dynasty. >> but the family had already lost a son in world war ii and would lose another when bobby kennedy was assassinated. it was at his brother's family that ted kennedy delivered a memorable eulogy. >> love is not an easy feeling to put into words nor is loyalty or trust or joy. but he was all of these. he loved life completely and he live it had intensely. a few years back, robert kennedy wrote some words about his own father. which expresses the way we in

his family felt about him. he said of what his father meant to him. and i quote "what it really all adds up to is love. not love as it is described with such facility in popular magazines, but the kind of love that is affection and respect, order and encouragement and support. our awareness of this was an incalculatable source of strength and because real love is something unselfish and involves sacrifice and giving, we could not help but profit from it and he continued, beneath it all he has tried to engender a social conscience. there were wrongs which needed attention, there were people who were poor and needed help, and we have a responsibility to them and to this country." through no virtues and accomplishments of our own, we have been fortunate enough to be born in the united states under

the most comfortable conditions, we therefore have a responsibility to others for who are less well off. that is what robert kennedy was given. what he leaves to us is what he said, what he did, and what he stood for. my brother need not be ideaized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life. to be remembered simply as a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it, who saw suffering and tried to heal it, who saw war and tried to stop it. those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world. as he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those

he touched and who sought to touch him, some men see things as they are and say why. i dream things that never were and say why not. >> after the robert kennedy assassination, so many people assumed that ted would be next in line for presidential run. but that too appeared cursed when just a year later he drove off a bridge at chap quick dick that left mary joe kopechne dead. >> ted's family would deal with illness, scandal and the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of john f. kennedy junior in 1999. does the death of senator kennedy truly mean the end of camelot or just another agonizing chapter in the story that extended to another generation. joining us now is neil swiny, co-author of "the fall and rise of ted kennedy."

thank you for making time for us. >> thank you for having me. >> what does this mean for the legend that has become camelot than we all certainly are familiar with? >> well, it's interesting you should play that clip from bobby as you funeral because for so many people, so many americans when they saw ted kennedy deliver that eulogy at that moment of profound crisis, for the country, they saw a different ted kennedy. it's when he grew up, when he was the kid brother becoming the patriarch, the leader where the burden fell on his shoulders at the age of 36 and which no one had expected with brothers ahead of him he would have to do. now we're coming to the same point many years later after a very distinguished career on the part of senator kennedy. and the same question arises who will carry on that. i think the reality is that camelot period is over. but there may well be a new

period that the kennedy family in some ways probably in public service less so in politics maybe help to carry on. >> neil, when you think about so many things the kennedy family was involved in and how much they contributed to our society but also how much they suffered, in your view, was the kennedy family, was camelot blessed or was it cursed? >> well, it's almost unimaginable when you tally the tragedies that this family had. part of it was a function of a very big family and a very big family insisted on being part of the public is taken, but the assassinations and the deaths, it did give credence to this idea of how much more can this family take. in fact, people forget that seven months after john kennedy was assassinated, ted kennedy nearly died in a plane crash. and when bobby arrived at the scene, a friend journalist friend said to him, is it ever going to end for you people and

bobby turned to him and was very wistful and said i was just thinking that if my mother had only four children, she would have nothing now because all four of the oldest of the children were gone. for all intents and purposes. so that does accumulation of tragedy and pain is hard to fathom, but for ted kennedy it's interesting. he always looked forward. he got that from his mother looking forward and not engaging what she called useless mourning. she wanted to look forward and so did ted kennedy. >> thank you so much. neil swidey, thank you. and david, so now with the immediate family, the nine children there is but one gene who is now left. we saw two weeks prior to the sister passing away his sister younes. it is to be detaineed what camelot really means but this nation has certainly changed after what happened last night. >> it's changes and i think even though camelot may be gob, as

long as there is political history, there will be those who try to study the kennedy family and learn from it. >> we know there will be political history forever. coming up next, some final thoughts as we wrap up this hour on special coverage on the passing of senator edward kennedy. >> and on "hardball," chris matthews will be joined by massachusetts congressman ed markey for more on the legacy of the lion of the u.s. senate and later, you can catch the "hardball" documentary with chris matthews right here on msnbc. our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones. 90s slacker hip-hop. ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt yourody 'cause we'pride ♪ng a ride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪

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>> i have lived a blessed time. now with you, i look forward to a new time of aspiration and high achievement for our nation and the world. >> and another example of beautiful and inspiring words from senator ted kennedy. before we wrap up, david, what are your thoughts now. >> you know, tamron, the piece of tape we've run so often was the 19 0 speech "the dream shall never die." one of the reasons this is still resonates is when he said we kept the faith and there he was with a losing campaign, so many americans all of us, of course, so many of us are never going to get, we're never going to get all we aspire to in life and ulf us will have family members whose lives end way too soon. it was as if ted kennedy was speaking to that and the lesson of standing for what you believe in and having the dream and keep going is a lesson that is eternal i think. >> that's wonderfully said,

david. i think today we look back at our history and i saw a headline that say the part of our american history now changed or we've all been ached in some way and people great and small if any of us can be described as that have some feelings about this man, this family. it is incredible to watch these memories and really understand the impact that this had on our lives and will continue to have even as this health care debate has happened. it's been an amazing day, very sad day but one of inspiration. >> i want to close the show now with a final peace of tape. thanks for watching the "big picture" on msnbc. >> i am proud to be a liberal. the kennedys are not in public service to make money. we have paid too high a price. >> my brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in