melinda, your thoughts as a young person about the kennedy family brand, if you will, what that name kennedy means to your age regiment as we would say in anthropology? >> of course it would depend on who you''re talking to. i have republican relatives and the name kennedy makes their blood boil and to them that means social justice work. and one thing that i'm going to take away from this moment is just getting to see the old lion roar again in some of those speeches and really hoping that somebody we may not know about who's in public life right now will sort of pick up that mantle and we won't think it's probably going to be somebody within the kennedy family, but there certainly is a lot going on today that requires a passionate response so i hope we find as a

result of this that there's some lion cubs in waiting ready to come out. the other thing that has struck me over the last couple of days that is not so welcome to see is just the response of the kennedy haters coming out in a way that you would hope would not have happened at a time like this. in response to a lot of our stories on politics b s daily, have really been disappointed in the strength of that at a moment like that. >> ryan, will teddy will on the cover of the new yorker this weekend? >> that's above my pay grade. >> in one hour, the kennedy brothers. right now it's time for "the ed show" with ed schultz. >> i'm ed schultz.

this is "the ed show." good evening, americans, welcome to the ed show tonight. i'm ed schultz, at this hour, doors of the kennedy library are about to open, open where the lion will lie in repose, where thousands of people will file through to pay their respects to ted kennedy. one man that senator kennedy really relied upon is senator chris dodd and he'll join in me just a moment. and we must not forget that ted does a hero to the working folk of america, the former secretary of labor robert rische will talk about the future ted kennedy's work. plus, we're going to hear a personal story tonight of a woman's crusade to change the insurance industry. she lost her husband to cancer,

and in the end, he said fighting united health care was tougher than fighting his disease. i'll have my op-ed in just a moment. but first, senator chris dodd called ted kennedy his best friend, they served together in the senate for nearly three decades, senator dodd was the man ted kennedy chose to take the reins of his committee when he could no longer work in his committee. and senator dodd joins me by phone tonight to start off "the ed show." i know this has been really a couple of rough days for you. >> i'm delighted to be with you and you've been a great friend and a great advocate of the cause that teddy cared so deeply about. i'm pleased to join you, a sad couple of days, we all knew it was going to happen, certainly he did as well. but he was never maudlin, he was never depressed about it all, he was optimistic about the future. i talked to him a couple of

weeks ago the last time. in fact i had cancer surgery two weeks ago and teddy was that tireless good friend, never, never wavered and the kind of person you would like to have in your life when you need him the moist. >> this is now really in reveren reverence, a man who gave his heart and soul to this country and was such a great leader and a lot of conversation about how he just can't be replaced, but who picks up the reins, senator, how do you personally feel about the job ahead to get this thing done and i'm talking about health care, it's so important to the country and it was so important to your best friend ted kennedy. >> no question about it. teddy introduced the first universal health care bill 40 years ago. he was no johnny come lately to this issue. he cared deeply about it and was responsible for some of the major achievements in health care reform, certainly the children's health care program, the health of women, just

countless examples i can think of. he was my partner when we did the family and medical leave act years ago. so this was the cause of his life and no one was more exstatic and excited. i remember the morning of july 16 my phone rang and it was ted kennedy, he was jubilant the stay we passed his bill on health care reform, just a month and a half ago. so he would hope to be around to watch the conclusion of that debate and i'm convinced we're going to get there. it's been a blistering month in august, with obviously these very emotional and heart felt in many cases town hall meetings that people have expressed their concerns about health care, the costs of it and how we're going to do it, but i'm confident in the cooler days of september, that sitting down together, moving ahead and getting the kind of health care that americans wants, that is

accessible, affordable quality care with a public option, that's going to reduce costs for people and provide the quality of care that americans want to have in the greatest and wealthiest nation on the face of this earth. i'm going to do all in my power, i'm going to be joined by many in the senate, democrats and republicans who want to see us get beyond the ranting and the raving that's been going over the last several months and sit down and get this job done. >> i spoke with pat leahy today, i spoke with barbara boxer, i feel the intensity and the passion with all of you, god bless you for the work you're doing, we're looking at pictures right now just outside the john f. kennedy library. you referred to ted kennedy as your brother and we know how close you guys were, when he made that phone call to you and asked you to take the reins of

this committee, what was that like. >> well, it was a tremendous honor. look, we have sat next to each other for a long time, so the friendship went beyond just the personal relationship we have had with each other, and he's been a terrific friend. when my daughter was born, the first call i get is from teddy. coming out of prostate surgery two weeks ago, the first call they get is from teddy. and he asked me to fill in for him here on that committee that he's run so beautifully and well through the years. we got a bill done, it was the longest markup of a bill in the history of that committee, i'm told, and while there was some partisan disagrees, there was 162 amendments offered by the republican senators, many of them were technical amendments and many of them were substantive. while they didn't vote for the bill in the end, a good part of

that bill that came out of ted kennedy's committee had the strong imprint of republicans on that committee, including orrin hatch and john mccain and others. so i'm hopeful we will go back and remind each other what teddy would do, find some common ground. >> senator, the health bill had his name on it, but the final bill, do you want ted kennedy's name on that bill. >> you bet i do. 40 years, almost 50 years of fighting for the average american, you said it well, ed, when you started this program, this was a fighter for the average working american, people who break a sweat every day and wonder if they're going to have a job in the morning, their retirement and they're counting on people like ted kennedy and have over the years to stand up for them. that's our charge. i don't care what your political label is, our job is to make sure that the american dream is not only for the affluent and

the very rich, but the people who work hard. that's the dream that he cared about and i care about and that's my job as we go back into session in a week. >> i appreciate your time on "the ed show" tonight. our prayers are with the kennedy family and with all of you wonderful democrats who are going to rally together to get this thing done. senator chris dodd with us great front of the program and mine. we want to go live to jfk library in boston where people are arriving to pay tribute to ted kennedy. kelly o'donnell is live tonight, there's no question that there's an outpouring of affection going on there tonight? >> without a doubt, ed, there are people who simply want to come and be a part of an opportunity to say thank you to ted kennedy and to honor his memory and to take part in this event which is so important to the people of massachusetts.

what we saw today, ed, was that journey from hyannisport, through neighborhoods that were important to him and he was so involved in trying to make this place a living remembrance to his brother, the late president kennedy and now he is here, it's really a coming full circle. what will be interesting to watch, it will be, the doors will be opened late into the evening and those who come to pay their respects will have an opportunity to see members of the family, members of kennedy's staff, volunteer who is took part in organizations near and dear to his heart, families of service members who died in iraq, who were working with kennedy to try to create changes like having more body armor, for example. and also families from 9/11, as you well remember, a couple of those flights on that terrible day came from boston and so kennedy always had a very personal relationship with the massachusetts victims of 9/11

having ongoing conversations and personal contact with them in the years since so they will be represented here as well. >> kelly o'donyenelo'donnell, t for joining us. in memory of ted kennedy, the fight goes on, the first op-ed as americans pay their respects to the great senator, i want to ask, what is it about a legacy? i don't think it's all about storytelling, senator kennedy was the gladiator for the people, the causes that he cared about, lawmakers i hope would honor that in doing his work if he were still with us. i don't think that's political, i think that's fitting. however accusations are coming fast and furious from the other side about how the senator's death will be exploited to pass health care reform. great. you know how republicans should fear themselves having to be part of a ted kennedy memorial health care bill. what could be more fitting, the bill that ted kennedy helped

pass, ek statically, for those who care about health care reform. the republicans claim that they were shut out of the negotiations, even though the bill contained 160 republican amendments, the republicans voted against the bill. i think that's hypocrisy. we are not going to get republican votes on health care. you can we're politicizing, the fact is that this is what senator kennedy wants, this is what he worked for, this is his passion, the cause of his life. if you had any questions about whether the republican members of the gang of six are working in good faith, take a look at what senator mike ensy said at a town hall on monday. the quote, if i hadn't been involved in the process as long as i have and to the depth as i have, you would already have national health care, it's not where i can get them to compromise, it's what i can get them to leave out. that's one of the gang of six that is supposed to bring the

bipartisan part of this together so we can get some health care reform? enzi admitted that he's not there to negotiate, he's there to kill reform, he's an obstructionist. this is where ted kennedy will be sorely missed, kennedy was always with and for the people. he wrote a health care bill with a strong public option, that is what the american people want, call it whatever you want, just get it done for the american people. coming up, one woman's fight against what she calls the real death panels in america, private insurance company. she says their game is to break you down. but she didn't give up and neither should we. this on a day that america continues to pay tribute to the life of senator ted kennedy, he now lies in repose at john f. kennedy library.

next up, a woman with an extraordinary story of how a private insurance company cost her husband the ultimate price. we're calling out the free market death panels after this. hey, it's me, water. did you know that when you filter me at home i'm pretty much the same as i am in a plastic bottle? except that you'll save, like, $600 bucks a year. but other than that, we're pretty much the same. pur. good, clean water. but did you know you also get hotel price assurance? it's a one-two punch of savings -- pow! pow! lower hotel booking fees mean you get a lower total price.

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welcome back to "the ed show." death panels are not a part of any of the health care reform bills that are in congress, keep that in mind, but i think they already exist in the private insurance industries. insurance companies routinely deny coverage to policyholders which effectively kills patients who can't afford treatment. the liberal group americans

united for change highlights in atrocity in a new ad. >> the lies about phony death panels have all been proving false. unfortunately there are real death panels in america. >> in the spring of 1987, as a physician, i denied a man a necessary operation that would have saved his life and thus caused his death and i'm haunted by the thousands of pieces of paper on which i have written that deadly word, denied. >> we need health care reform now. >> on this issue in the heat of the battle, you do write a article several weeks ago about this and you're so brave for doing it. >> that's kind of you, thanks. >> what happened? your husband got liver cancer, and you had insurance, what happened? >> well the hmo policy said that we had to go to a doctor within

the network, but that if we needed care outside of the network, it would cover it. well, we went to the liver expert in the network and he said, there's only one place for you to go and that's this hospital in boston. and we thought, that's good news, it's only 40 minutes up the road from us, but the insurance company wouldn't let us go there. they wanted us to go to a small local hospital that was totally unequipped to deal with this kind of cancer. >> so they denied that claim, not paying the coverage, and kept sending you letters to the point where you always had the possibility of hope that maybe they would cover it. >> they had a very phony appeals process and you -- we kept on getting these one sentence letters saying that they're turning us down, but if you call this number, we'll reconsider and we would call and we could talk to some insurance company handler and he would always tell

us, well, yeah, you know, we have new information here, let's see what we can do for you, and then we would get another letter and it just went around and around. and i began thinking that he was trying to run out the clock on my husband's life. >> and that what happened? >> well, you know, these cancer treatments, they help some people and not others. we eventually said the heck with it and we just took ourselves to the hospital and he got the treatment. and i always wonder whether that delay in fighting with the insurance company made the outcome less, you know, less positive. >> and did a doctor say that maybe you should mortgage your home? >> yes, in fact the insurance company wouldn't talk to the doctor. and this was a doctor, the liver expert within their own net work and he was a very good man and one time when we were leaving his office, he whispered to us, mortgage your house. >> so there was insurance, it wasn't enough, it didn't cover

what you thought it would, there was a delay process, there was poor communication between the doctor and the patient. and the insurance company. >> yeah. >> and they ran the clock out on your husband and he passed away? >> well, we went and got the treatment, but it was a delay and time is precious when you're dealing with a cancer like this. >> how big of an issue is this with you? it took courage to write this. >> well, it's enormous. when it happened is when i began writing about health care and it was a revelation, i never thought twice about, i never thought much about health care, in fact i always thought my coverage was good, because if we had to go to get a checkup or get a flu shot, the insurance company always paid for it. but the proof of the pudding is whether they're going to come out and pay for an expensive

treatment. i read the -- government death panels are going to deny you chemothera chemotherapy. i thought what planet are they spending their time on? >> i have had a lot of listeners on my radio show say you've got to get froma on to tell this story, and more stoiries, theres thousands, millions of them around the country. >> thank you for having me. we're just getting our first shot of senate ted kennedy's cassette at the jfk museum in boston. and thousands are lining up to honor him. stay with us. ( conversation ) garth, you're up. hold on, i'm at capitalone.com picking a photo... for my credit card. here's one from my prom. oh, what memories. how 'bout one from our golf outing? ( shouting ) i know, maybe one of my first-born son.

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and welcome back to "the ed show." psycho talk tonight. hate spewing radio talker and twitter borden spots. new orleans is still in shamless. president obama recently reaffirmed his commitment to rebuild the area in an interview. in response, borts tweeted thi . obama wants to rebuild new orleans? why? build it and they will come? they? the debris that katrina chased

out? wow, that kind of talk is inexcusab inexcusable, but it's nothing new for the neilster. here's what he said in 2006, less than a year after katrina ravaged the gulf coast. >> i love talking to you about these katrina refugees. i mean so many of them have turned out to be complete bums, just debris, debris that hurricane katrina washed across the country. >> and here he is, just a couple of months ago. >> katrina cleansed new orleans, it just out a lot of debris, including human debris. >> that kind of hate is appalling, attacking the victims of one of our country's most devastating signal disasters in recent years in such a hateful

way and it's disgusting and it's very serious psycho talk. you're looking live at a picture of the jfk presidential library in boston where senator ted kennedy will lie in repose tonight and tomorrow. liberals, we need to fight. we need to pass this health care bill in honor of him, this is our calling. to see this fight for health care for every american to a successful finish. roger simon shares his thoughts on this in just a moment on "the ed show." stay with us. ook from at&t. with its built-in 3g network, it's fast and small, so it goes places other laptops can't. anything before takeoff mr. kurtis? prime rib, medium rare. i'm bill kurtis, and i've got plenty of room for the internet. and the nation's fastest 3g network. (announcer) sign up today and get a netbook for $199.99 after mail-in rebate. with blt-in access to the nation's fastest 3g network.

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welcome back to "the ed show". you're looking live at the john f. kennedy museum in boston where people are filing through to pay their respects to senator ted kennedy. thousands are waiting to get in, the line stretches all the way

down the street. earlier today, people lined the streets and applauded when the motorcade made its way to the library. family members and staff members are keeping vigil with senator kennedy's body tonight, following the kennedy family traditio tradition. the country has lost a giant, a gladiator for the people, but as he said, the work goes on, and the causes endures. the senate will return to work in september, health care is the number one issue. ted kennedy has a bill right now in the senate that calls for a strong public option, and democrats really want to honor his legacy, should pass this bill. is the death of ted kennedy going to have an impact from here on out when it comes to

getting this job done for the american people? what do you think? >> optimistically, i think the most we could hope for is that a number of democrats will have some steel put in their spine and they were absolutely pan panicked by the town hall frenzy and the death panel frenzy, and now they say, look, you need to stand for something in politics, ted kennedy stood for something, i need to stand for something and i need to have a legacy, greater than just getting re-elected and health care is that legacy. that's the optimistic view. >> and health care is for the people, for all americans. do you think this kind of conversation or any conversation that would talk about what the senator would want go into the arena of politicizing his death? i feel comfortable with it because i knew the senator, i knew how he cared about people, he knew how critical this issue was.

your thoughts? >> i don't think it politicizes it, i think it's an honest statement of fact. but i would not overestimate the power it will have with the republicans. you know, the senate is a place where you get ious and debts and due bills, but they're personal ted kennedy had nearly five decades of ious and debts. many times he went to his republican colleagues and said orrin, i will vote for your bill if you vote for my bill. well now those debts are wiped clean. those ious are gone. and you could haven't a better guy than chris dodd fighting on kennedy's behalf. but i think it's going to be very difficult for chris dodd to say to his republican colleagues, you owe this to ted kennedy and you have to cast your vote this way. the senate is a highly partisan place and i don't think that is going to get much of a response. >> the climate of the senate is

just so much different today than what it was, it's a different senate, it will probably be a different senate without ted kennedy, so going across and making that deal and embracing one another in a very tough time is something the american people are just going to pay close attention to. the character of the senate is to come to compromise, are we in a totally new era of operation in the senate where that possibly night not happen, even with this issue as important as it is to the country? >> in fairness to republicans, i don't want to demonize them, ted kennedy was a lion of the senate and that meant he knew how to compromise, you don't get to be an effective senator if you don't compromise, so now part of the gamesmanship that's going to go on, right now is republicans are going to say, you know, ted kennedy would have compromised on this point, take a point, the

public option, in order to get all this other good stuff, portability, no cancellations, no preexisting conditions, and quickly i think this bill is going to get down to the easy part and the tough part. republicans are going to be all there for the easy part, the parts i just named and on the tough part, how universal it's going to be, are we going to have a public option? who's going to get taxed to pay for it? that's going to be separated out, i have a feeling into a separate bill that's going to be put off perhaps for a long time. >> i had a visit today with senator barbara boxer and i asked her about reconciliation and she that she wanted to use any legal terms, any legal avenues possible to get this done for the american people, and if that is going to be the attitude moving forward with the senate, i think that reconciliation is on the way and some others have said that as

well. roger simon, i appreciate your time. let's turn to our panel. jack rice and republican strategist tim griffin, you were looking at the pictures at the jfk library tonight. vicki kennedy, caroline kennedy, robert kennedy, other kennedy family members are there paying respects. todd webster, you worked on capitol hill for a long time. you of course worked with senate leader on the democratic side, tom daschle, you knew the force, you saw the force that ted kennedy brought to people's lives and to action to get things done. how much of a divorforce was he it came to the 11th hour, todd. >> one of the great ironies in the last 48 hours, hearing the tributes to ted kennedy coming pouring out, after spending deck kids raising money by demonizing ted kennedy as the great

liberal, irish catholic embodiment of all that's wrong in washington, republicans are actually coming out and being very gracious and making very kind and supportive statements, they loved ted kennedy, they knew that they could get a deal done with ted kennedy. if you look at president bush, his only two domestic accomplishments, the prescription drug bill, and another piece of legislation were only made possible because he had ted kennedy's support. now with the health care bill, you know, you have got other republicans, orrin hatch who's on the finance committee, who was a supporter and a co-sponsor with ted kennedy of the ryan white aids act, the s-chip bill, the children's health insurance program at the state level, his opportunity to rise to the level to pay his enduring respects to ted kennedy and to support a strong health care bill. >> tim griffin, there's been a lot of conversation about the

friendship and the work manlike effort that republican senator orrin hatch and senator kennedy had from time to time. they came together on legislation to do things for the good of the people. would there be some expectations in your opinion placed on orrin hatch to carry on that legacy? maybe he is the one on the conservative side that would push forward to get some compromise and to get a health care reform bill in this country? your thoughts on that. >> well, you know, i am not overly optimistic that something like that could be put together, certainly there will be senators including senator hatch in the senate to pursue compromise, but i think the issue here is, there is an audience within the senate, but that's an entirely different audience than what we have been seeing out in the public. and i think ultimately the problem is not one of inability to compromise on a personal level between senators, i think the problem for a lot of these

senators is that people out in the heart land and in arkansas and the south and different places have real concerns about the public option and about different aspects of this health care reform legislation. and until those questions are asked, i think the problem is going to be persist, despite the fact that they may attack senator kennedy's name to the legislation, and there may be these attempts to leverage this emotional time for the country. i just -- i am not convinced that that plays here. i see what's going on on the major networks, i see what's going on on the east coast. but i just don't think a lot of this plays where i live. >> jack rice, what democrat do you expect to step up and really lead on this? is it chris dodd? is it dick durbin? is it tom harkin? what do you think? >> i think it's probably going

to be chris dodd, i look back at a conversation i had with him in iowa at that first caucus, and he's always been one of those right next to ted kennedy. but the real problem is i don't think the republicans have any interest at all in compromising. we can start with the stimulus package, not one member of the house voted for that. and then most of them turned around and abused that stimulus money. look at the health care question, i don't think they have everybody had an interest in compromising. we look at what mccain has been talking about, you mentioned specifically orrin hatch, and they did compromise on schip, if you look at who's driving the republicans now it's the wing nuts and the tea bagger we have had in the past. not the people we expect to compromise. so to expect them to come to the table now is probably naive. >> we now see the john f. kennedy library, where senator ted kennedy lies in repose, people began lining up early

this morning waiting hours to pay their financial respects, we know he'll never be replaced. next up, congressman john dingle will join me in the conversation, and where the leadership in this country go from here? ♪ this old heart ♪ gonna take them away [ quacks ]

robert rische worked on behalf of the american worker for years. he'll talk about it in our playbook coming up, stay with us.

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please talk to your doctor about aspirin and your heart. i'm going to be grandma for a long time. ( whooshing, riders cheering ) welcome back, you are looking live at the jfk library where senator ted kennedy's body is laying in repose. caroline kennedy is outside greeting visitors, senator

kennedy's widow is inside, vicki, many progressives are wondering who's going to pick up the mantle now, a longtime friend of senator ted kennedy, congressman dingle. congressman, the task at hand, give us a call, where do we stand? >> the task at hand is to continue the programs that senator kennedy was fighting for and to do so effectively, beginning with health care, but after we finish that, we have a number of matters relative to the environment, such as climate change and there's other legislation we'll have to do in the area of education to see to it our kids are able to get the education they need. and we'll have to do more on the economy to see that we recover this country from the economic calamity that struck us last

fall. >> senator dingle the senate has lost an advocator and deal maker for civil causes, are you concerned that senator kennedy will not be there? what is the dichotomy of all that? >> the loss of ted kennedy is a great tragedy, but personal tragedy, human tragedy, and loss to the country with very serious dimensions. but the hard fact is that the business of the country must go forward and we will do so. there are a lot of other members of the house and senate in large part in memory of ted kennedy will be moving forward on legislation that's important, health care as i mentioned, education, there is too little time left for us to address these kinds of problems for us to dwadle around.

i don't think our good friend ted kennedy would like to see us mourning, but he would like to see us go forward to forward the causes he believed in. >> how do you feel about senator ted kennedy? >> he was a wonderful friend, he had a great sense of humor. he came back to campaign for me on several occasions. he was a great guy to work with, and he was also a great compromiser. he was also a man who stood on principle, and also a man who could work on principle. something very, very important, and something which few people in the congress know how to do today. >> there's no question about that, as you see this outpouring of emotion, congressman dingle, what effect do you think it will have, if any, on the congress, will they be more respective? now that the lion of the senate

has passed on? we have had some pretty tough dialogue in this country. sometimes an event like this wakes people up and we get a better grip on our senses and we tend to move forward as human beings in a much more collective manner. do you anticipate that this won't be so political, that there will be some folks that might in the arena of give and take much more than what they might have been before? >> well, i would hope so. and i would expect at least for a brief period that will happen. but remember, this is an issue, health care, and these other issues are issues about which people feel very strongly, and when people feel strongly, emotions take over and regrettable emotions lead us to do things that are not really in the best interests of us or of the country or of legislation. so i hope it would have a

benefitous effect, but don't hold your breath. >> our panel is still with us, todd webster, jack rice and tim griffin. a very interesting piece in politico, and it reads, a handful of well known and ambitious progressives in the upper chamber are eager to carry on kennedy's legacy. john kerry, chris dodd and feingold. but none possesses the call chemical mixture of cleb, seniority, personal charm, legislative savvy and ideological zeal that made kennedy the most effective senator in a generation. todd won stebster, what senatord closest fit that description and fill that bill? >> it's going to be hard to fill those shoes and it will take years and decades. a couple of people come to mind, one is shearer of ohio.

he's a real progressive, unabashed progressive, shearer brown is a tough one to watch. the state of ohio may mean that it's harder to get re-elected but he is certainly one to watch. another one that's often overlooked, not only because she's only about 5'6". she's on the health committee, she's the first woman on the veteran's committee, she's on the appropriations committee, meaning that she makes a lot of deals and can work both sides of the aisle. but is a very, you know, very effective legislator, very hard working legislator and i think is another one who is still on the rise. >> tim griffin, why did conservatives throughout his career just love to attack ted kennedy on so many different levels and i think we have to admit tonight, he was a guy that stood tall to all criticism, was strong h his beliefs, but for

years, he just seemed to be the best guy for the conservatives to go after and pin, you know, the label liberal and then vilify him, why was that? >> well, i think at the end of the day, a lot of conservatives and a lot of republicans, but conservatives in particular, just simply disagreed very, very strongly with him as they do with senator kerry and others. but clearly, clearly, a lot of people, a lot of conservatives and a lot of republicans would put him at the top of their list in terms of someone that they could raise money off of, and someone that really got conservatives angry and i think it's because, a number of factors, first of all, his celebrity was huge, he had some significant personal problems that bug a lot of -- that bugged a lot of conservatives and stuck in their craw that they didn't think were answered.

but also, at the end of the day, i think he was the most consistently liberal, not just on health care, but on labor issues, on taxes, you name it. when there was an issue that conservatives felt strongly about, you could almost always count on him to be on the direct -- >> congressman, tim brings up a good point, if ted kennedy was on your team, he was on your team and you could count on him, who in your senate carries that torch now? >> the problem is it's going to have to be a combination of people. when i think back to ted kennedy. the my brother and i were the first in our family to ever go to college. ted kennedy was the kind of people who fought for people just like me. i have paid a lot of taxes since that time. i have investor invested back i

country since that time. most importantly this guy was a fighter and i hope what really happens is his legacy is spread across the democratic party, it's not about getting elected or re-elected. it's about standing for something while you're in office. if they can stand up to that legacy, they will far outlast what the lion has done. >> thanks for your time tonight. tonight we pay tribute to senator ted kennedy as his body lies in repose at the john f. kennedy presidential library in boston. my next guest says working with ken by was one of the greatest privileges in his life. former secretary of labor robert rische joins us in a moment, who picks up the torch for the middle class and labor in this coun country.

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and in our final notes tonight, what senator kennedy's death means for the working folk of america? ted kennedy was a staunch supporter of the middle class. let me bring in former secretary of labor of public policy of the university of berkeley robert reich. describe what it was like to work with ted kennedy on labor.

i have had a number of labor leaders say we have lost our best friend and no one in the history of this country did more for labor than ted kennedy. >> undoubtedly nobody in the history of this country did more for people who needed health care and a higher minimum wage and payment protection. ted kennedy was in the sen tf of that. we would be talking about family medical leave act, i would say senator, do you think it's possible, can we actually get it done? and i remember his sparkling blue eyes and his smile and he would say, yes, at least we should try. it's going to be a heavy lift, but we should try, he was a fighter, he reached across the aisle, he knew he could do it and he was also a brilliant legislative tactician, i don't think most americans have any idea how many good things he