talent, more commitment, more grit, more grace than any family i've ever seen. so when they say, when they say, that this is a new, the end of the kennedy era, i want you to know i realize your parents collectively left america a lot more than this great library, a lot more than landmark legislation and a lot more than leadership, they left us you. as maybe your pop would say, because of you, the dream still lives. thank you for the honor of allowing me to be with you.

our final speaker is senator kennedy's loving niece. i've had the privilege of introducing her to this stage many times and i'm pleased to do it now. the president of the kennedy library foundation, caroline kennedy.

thank you, mr. vice president and all the speakers tonight of the gift of teddy you have given to all of us. thank you, vicki, for loving him with all your heart for so many years and bringing him so much happiness. and to cara, teddy, patrick, kik, caroline for making him so proud, bringing him so much joy, and to jean, i know you lost your soulmate because you and teddy lived your entire lives your life and all your nieces and nephews are here to help you as best we can. welcome to this library teddy built and brought to life with his spirit and dedication to public service. as many of you know over the last few years, or really for most of my semi-adult life, one of my parttime jobs has been introducing teddy to crowds of people who already knew him incredibly well.

although the process was unbelievably stressful for me, it was just another one of the gifts that he gave me. when he saw that i was nervous, he would give me a pat on the back. when he knew i was said, he would call up and say, i've got a great idea. there is a convention coming up. maybe you would like to introduce me. off i would go on another adventure in public speaking. no matter how nervous i was, i always knew when i stepped down from the podium, i would get a big kiss and hear him whisper, "now i'm going to get you back." i can't believe that's not going to happen tonight. the other night after vicki called, ed and i went outside. it was a beautiful summer night. the moon sat, there was no wind, the sea was calm and the stars were out. i looked up and there was this one star hanging low in the sky that was just bigger than all the rest and brighter than all

the rest with a twinkle and sparkle louder than others. i know it was jupiter, but it was acting a lot like ted. his colleagues have spoken tonight about his work, his devotion to the senate, the joy he took in helping others. his thoughtfulness and compassion, his inspirational courage and his commitment to the ideal of peace and justice that his brothers gave their lives for and that he fought for his entire career. in our family, we were lucky to see his passion, his self-discipline and his generosity of heart every single day. he had a special relationship with each of his 28 nieces and nephews, and there were 60 people who called him great uncle teddy. he was there for every baptism, every school trip to washington, every graduation and every wedding. it was his big heart, his big shoulders and a big hug. he knew when we were having a tough time or great time and

show up and say, it's time to go sailing. he convinced us we could ace the next test, make the varsity team, win the next race, whether it was sailing or politics. it was okay if we didn't, as long as we tried our best. he did it by letting us know that he believed in us so we should believe in ourselves. he taught by example and with love. he showed us how to keep going no matter how hard things were, to love each other, no matter how mad we got, and weep working for what we believed in. he never told us what to do, he just did it himself and we learned from his example. though it was sometimes overshadowed by his other gifts, teddy was a creative spirit. he loved painting and singing in the natural world and the sea. he was always looking for new ways to bring people together to make a better world, to get things done. he was always doing things that other people could have done, but he was somehow the one who did it.

this is true in the senate as we heard tonight, as it is in our family. i thought the i would tell you a little bit about one of the less known examples, his creation of the annual family history trips. visiting historical sites was something anyone can do, but teddy made it something special. he realized a family re-up-on was wasted if it was just a cookout, so he made it a chance to learn and share the love of history that he got from his mother and honey fitz. in my childhood, they were simple affairs, an occasional visit to the nantucket whaling exhibit for the crane's paper factory where dollar bills were printed and the studio where samuel french created the statue of abraham lincoln. no visit to grandma's house wasn't complete without teddy's recitation of "the midnight run

of paul revere." i thought he was just entertaining us, but he was passing down the belief that each of us has a chance to change the course of history. teddy lived for the future and he loved the past. when a new generation came along, in typical teddy style, he decided to take it all to a new level. he wanted us all to share his love of being together, his passion for history, and to learn about the sacrifices upon which this country was built, so that we would understand our own opportunities and obligations. he took this on with enthusiasm and his organizational magic. helped, as always, by the extraordinary team that are all here tonight and will be working for him forever. teddy illuminated the world around us and brought the past to life. the trips were open to everyone.

although there was always some pretrip moaning and groaning among the teenagers, no one ever wanted to stay home. we visited the monuments of washington by night, and mount vernon by boat. we walked the civil war battlefields of gettysburg, harper's ferry and in richmond we saw the iron works and where patrick henry made his immortal speak about liberty. fort mchenry in baltimore, valley forge and constitutional hall in philadelphia. we walked across the brooklyn bridge and learned about the battle of long island. the culmination of this tradition was our trip to boston. we took a ride on the old cape railway and learned about the building of the cape cod canal. on the way to boston we went to plymouth rock. here we visited the u.s.s. constitution saved by honey fitz, old north church, house where grandma was born and the spot where the irish immigrants

came ashore. we toured the kennedy library, picnic at the boston harbor lighthouse. although the rule for history trips was they were day trips only, to teddy boston was special. he had a surprise for us, which is that we were going to get the chance to camp out on thompson island. he didn't tell us that for most of the year this facility is used for juvenile detention until after we had set up our tents in the dirt. it was about 98 degrees, the bugs were out, it smelled like low tide all night long and the planes from logan were taking off and landing right over our heads. we figured teddy was trying to teach us something, but after a boiling hot, 16-hour history day with 20 children under 10, we weren't quite sure what it was. in any event, that was when teddy decided even he had had enough of history, finally, and snuck out under cover of darkness on his secret getaway boat and headed for the ritz. once again, he had it all figured out.

yesterday as we drove the same route up from the cape, i thought about all the gifts teddy gave us. the incredible journey he took. i thought about how lucky i am to have traveled some of that journey with him and with all the wonderful people he embraced, so many of whom are here tonight. i thought about how he touched so many hearts and did so many things that only he could have done. i thought, too, about all the things he did that we all could do, but we just figure teddy would do them instead. as we drove through the boston that he loved, and saw the thousands of people who loved him back, i realized that it was our finally history trip together. now teddy has become a part of history. we have become the ones who have to do all the things he would have done, for us, for each other and for our country.

well, no celebration could close if it's in honor of senator kennedy, without a song as he closed them many times. oftentimes he closed them with a song about his heritage of which he was so proud. tonight, to join the chorus, when "irish eyes are smiling," we have the distinct pleasure to

have two irish tenors lead news that song. colm wilkerson and john mccormick. ♪

♪ ♪ there's ater in your eye ♪ and i'm wondering why

♪ for it never should be there ♪ at all ♪ with such power in your smile ♪ sure a stone you beguile ♪ so there's never a teardrop at all ♪ when your sweet littling laughter ♪ like some fairy song ♪ and your eyes twinkle bright ♪ as can be ♪ you should laugh all the while ♪ ♪ and all other times smile ♪ and now smile a smile for me ♪ when irish eyes are smiling

♪ sure to defy the warming spring ♪ there is a little of irish laughter ♪ you can hear the angels sing ♪ when irish eyes are happy ♪ though the world is bright and gay ♪ ♪ and when irish eyes are smiling ♪ ♪ they'll heal your hearts away ♪ ♪ for your smile is a part ♪ of the love in your heart ♪ and it makes even sunshine more bright ♪ ♪ like the little sweet song ♪ crooning all the day long ♪ with your love, your laughter and light ♪ ♪ for the springtime of life

♪ is the sweetness of all ♪ and there is never care or regret ♪ ♪ while springtime is ours ♪ through it all of your thoughts ♪ ♪ let us smile each chance we get ♪ ♪ when irish eyes are smiling ♪ it is like the morning spring ♪ ♪ in the little of irish laughter ♪ ♪ you can hear the angels sing ♪ when irish eyes are happy ♪ all the world is bright and gay ♪ ♪ and when irish eyes are smiling ♪ ♪ sure they'll steal your heart away ♪

♪ when irish eyes are smiling ♪ sure they light the lord ♪ and the little of irish laughter ♪ ♪ you can hear the angels claim ♪ ♪ when irish eyes are happy ♪ all the world is bright and gay ♪ ♪ and when irish eyes are smiling ♪ ♪ sure they'll steal your heart away ♪ ♪ when irish eyes are smiling ♪ for they spark the warm in spring ♪ ♪ and the little of irish

laughter ♪ ♪ you can hear the angels sing ♪ when irish eyes are happy ♪ all the world is bright and gay ♪ ♪ and when irish eyes are smiling ♪ ♪ sure they'll heal your heart again ♪ ♪ they'll steal your heart away ♪ away ♪ goodness, how else could you say good-bye to a politician whose great grandfather was the mayor of boston when fenway park opened in 1912 and threw out the first pitch there? the memorial service for senator

kennedy wrapping up now in boston. fittingly for a farewell, as chris matthews and i rejoin you from new york. fittingly for a farewell of this sort. it went one hour 17 minutes longer than planned. they couldn't let go. >> it's the democratic party. to recognize, george mcgovern must understand the man who was nominated at 3:00 in the morning. i did think it's wonderful. i said it earlier we all were told kids could stop at every house in one night. i think ted kennedy must have stopped at every hours of every person there and so much more so. so many rich stories of friendship and personal concerns offcamera. >> and we were privileged to hear of the routine worthy of robert benchly, the great robert benchly, the dry comedian, senator colver of iowa who was his football teammate and harvard roommate telling that

uproarously story of the salmon, the boat. >> it was bob newhart. it was done with the phone and you couldn't hear the other end of the story, but it was his account going into the water with teddy kennedy. >> i guess the thing i'm taken with in conclusion here was that it was, other than orrin hatch's one reach for the handkerchief to blow his nose in recounting his friendship with this man, there were dry eyes in the house and they were laughing. this is what it was promised to be, a celebration of the man's life as opposed to some maudlin resitation of how much he was missed. it was over the top and almost unbelievable stories we heard tonight. >> i always say to my son, tell me something you don't know. these stories are so consistent, so personal, as i said, so

offcamera. >> yeah. >> they weren't meant for publication. i was stunned by the personal stories. i think everybody there was telling the truth. how is that for a political event? >> yeah, you know. this is a man who after robert kennedy died, was responsible more or less directly for being the father or father figure for 16 kids. >> true. >> and the number only increased as years went by. that will do it for us for tonight. for chris matthews, i'm keith olbermann. our coverage of senator kennedy's funeral mass begins tomorrow morning at 10:00 eastern. please join us then and join chris at the top of the hour for his fine documentary "the kennedy brothers." right now, we are going to join "headliners and legends," the ted kennedy story told from that perspective which we are joining already in progress as the events of the jfk library in boston wrap up for another evening. we join you in the morning for the formal funeral.

november 22, 1963. a day that changes everything for the american people. the kennedy family, and for the young senator from massachusetts. >> two priests who were with president kennedy say he is dead. >> the assassination of john f. kennedy affected that whole family almost in a way that is unimaginable for any of us because it sort of destroyed the natural order of things. >> in the days following jack's death, the kennedy family struggles to console a grieving nation, while also coping with its own loss. ted and robert take a hiatus from washington and return to hyannis port to wb jackie. when ted returns to the senate

floor a few months later, the difference in his persona is clear to all in washington. he has a new zeile for his work and determined to continue his brother's civil rights initiatives. >> kennedy's dedication in the area of social justice is inbred. >> this is not a political issue. this is a moral issue. >> it didn't require special education for senator kennedy to become deeply involved in causes like the civil rights movement in the 60s sibts. >> my brother was the first president of the united states to state publically that segregation was morally wrong. his heart and his soul are in this bill. >> in june of 1964, the senate passes the ground-breaking civil rights bill first penned by john f. kennedy. its a monumental moment in american history and emotional one for ted. after the vote, ted travels to massachusetts to accept his

party's nomination. the plane flies into bad weather and crashes. >> i remember hearing that rose at that point is wondering what's going on with the kennedy family. it seems like this was too much to have to bear in such a short order. >> ted is pulled from the wreckage, but his back is broken, leaving him immobile for five months. >> i felt a tremendous impact of the crash. >> despite the severity of his injury, he amazes his constituents continuing his run for re-election. >> i need your help and your support on november 3rd. >> for events and speaking engagements, joan steps in. >> my husband, of course, is looking forward to coming home and looking forward with your help to return to the senate. >> i just say that two years ago when i was campaigning, we won in massachusetts by 285,000. this year we've done considerably better and joan was

campaigning. so i think six years from now we are going to see lot more of joan. >> while joan is campaigning for ted in massachusetts, robert kennedy, who resigned as attorney general shortly after president kennedy's death, decides he will also run for the senate, representing new york. >> i decided to make myself available for the nomination of the democratic state convention. >> the two brothers, ted, still confined to his hospital bed, congratulate each other in november, as ted is re-elected and robert elected as the junior senator from new york. january 1965, the brothers walked into the senate together. they enjoyed quite a bit of camaraderie on capitol hill. >> it was said there was a joke when rfk was coming into be sworn to the senate, teddy offered to show him around. >> the kennedy brothers worked side by side on the labor and public welfare committee. they try to eradicate the poll

tax, a fight they lose. they are successful in their effort to change the country's immigration policy, which favors immigrants from northern europe. >> he's passionate about government working effectively for people in the interest of everyday folks and people who are struggling to become middle class americans. >> on july 14, 1967, amidst gossip circulating in washington of ted's wandering eye and alleged womanizing, joan gives birth to the couple's third child, patrick joseph kennedy. despite these rumors of domestic discord, ted kennedy is making a professional home for himself in the senate. brother robert, however, is envisioning something different. >> i think the difference between them then was that teddy felt natural and relaxed in the senate role. i'm not sure bobby ever did. it was almost as if the senate were a launching pad for him to become president. >> i am announcing today my

candidacy for the presidency of the united states. >> ted was among the people who really didn't want bob to run for president. one of the reasons was his concern that he might be shot, as jack has done. >> ultimately ted supports robert's decision. as he had done for jack, he campaigns for his brother. >> my thanks to all of you. now it's on to chicago and let's win there. >> but just three months into the campaign, tragedy again. >> he was crushed as bob had been shot. this left him without certainly the person he was closest to in life, his brother. >> and now we see the casket being carried in. >> what a stamp in the memory of anyone who listened to teddy's

eulogy. not just the words or the beautiful cathedral. but the emotion in his voice. >> those of us who loved him and take him to his rest today pray that what he was to us, what he wished for others, would say day come to pass for all the world. >> when his voice cracked and he picked it back up again, it's almost as if he were expressing what the country was feeling at that time, both a sense of enormous loss and at the same time, the necessity to go on. >> as he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who saw to touch him, some men see things that they are and say why. i dream things that never were and say, why not? >> after his brother died, teddy really had to become, not just an uncle, but almost like a father figure to this huge number of other kids.

it just meant timewise just an enormous scattering of his emotional life in order to be with all those kids. yet because the family tradition was each person stood up when the other one fell down, he had no choice but to try to become that person. >> any possibilities about 1972 and another higher office? >> i think if there's been something our family has learned over the period of time is that we don't make long-term plans. that's been the experience we've had. why ford? why now?" you know what i do? i introduce them to the most fuel-efficient midsize sedans... i don't know if you've heard, but this fuel efficiency thing.. kind of a big deal. anyway, ford and lincoln mercury have you covered... with showrooms full of fuel-efficient cars, trucks, suvs, crossovers, and hybrids. how's that for going green? now, get 0% financing plus up to $1,500 cash back

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this is "headliners and legends." once again, lester holt. for ted kennedy, 1969 is a pivotal year.

after the assassinations of his brothers john and robert, ted is thrust into the role of family patriarch. he attempts to fill his brother's shoes at home and in washington, but there is concern over whether he can handle the pressure. will the weight of public and private responsibility prove too heavy for the youngest kennedy to handle? after the assassination of robert kennedy, ted kennedy's personal life seems to disintegrate. on july 18th, 1969, 37-year-old ted kennedy heads to massachusetts. he is to attend a party being held on chappaquiddick island for the women known as the boiler room girls, who had worked on robert's presidential campaign. >> ted was exhausted emotionally and physically. tip o'neill told me that, you know, they were on the same plane up to boston and ted said, i'm just so tired. i don't have any energy.

>> the party on chappaquiddick is still going strong when, according to kennedy, he offers to drive a young aide, mary jo kopechne, to the ferry slip. the two leave the party some time after 10:00. kennedy said he does not realize he makes a wrong turn until the car he is driving descends a hill towards a small, unlit bridge. the car plunges off the side of the bridge. kennedy manages to escape. kopechne, however, does not. kennedy says he tries to save kopechne by swimming down to reach her. he also says that after he fails, he walks back to the party and recruits his cousin and a friend to go back to the bridge with him. after another failed rescue attempt, kennedy leaves the island alone, swims to the mainland, and returns to his hotel. approximately ten hours after the accident, he makes his way into the police station and is questioned by the police chief. >> the next morning he went in

to a police station on his own with the -- after they had already been called by a couple of kids who had gone fishing in the creek where the car had gone and had discovered the car. >> when do you think you might have a statement, senator, to clear up some of the questions? >> at an appropriate time. >> from looking at the accident scene, the car, the body of the girl, in your mind, how was the senator able to get out of the car and the girl not able to get out? >> well, that's hard to say but i did observe that the senator's car, the window on the driver's side was open. i would assume that, that was how he got out. >> word on what happened on chappaquiddick spreads quickly. there are questions about whether alcohol had been a factor in the accident, whether his conduct with kopechne was improper, and whether he attempted to cover up his involvement in the accident. >> people blamed him as -- as they should, as he blames himself. he didn't do what he ought to have done. >> do you feel that there are

any inconsistencies in senator kennedy's story? >> the only inconsistencies may be that we had believed that the accident happened between 12:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. and in the senator's story, he stated that he had come back some time during the night to his hotel room. i don't know when he could have done this. >> kennedy is charged with leaving the scene of an accident. in a hearing that lasts only nine minutes, kennedy pleads guilty to leaving the scene and receives a two-month jail sentence, which is later suspended. >> senator kennedy's suspended sentence was granted on the basis of his character and his worldwide reputation. >> i have made my plea, and i've requested the networks for time this evening to make a report to the people of massachusetts. >> i felt morally obligated to plead guilty to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident. no words on my part can possibly

express the terrible pain and suffering i feel over this tragic incident. this last week has been an agonizing one for me, and for the members of my family and the grief we feel over the loss of a wonderful friend who will remain with us the rest of our lives. >> that seemed to satisfy the voters of massachusetts. >> i don't think kennedy ever understood that it didn't satisfy people outside of massachusetts. coming up -- kennedy faces voters outside of massachusetts. >> i think that chappaquiddick kept him from being president. he had said, and i have no reason to doubt, that he's living with it every day. many surfaces that seem smooth and strong

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the accident on chappaquiddick island alters ted kennedy's political prospects and makes his personal life fodder for news hounds. >> the real tragedy at chappaquiddick was the loss of a life. and i have accepted full and complete responsibility for that. and i will live with that all of my life. >> and the future would hold more grief and tragedy. joe kennedy sr. passes away in november of 1969. and then in november of 1973 teddy jr. is diagnosed with cancer in his right leg. the leg is amputated.

six months later, the kennedy name is making headlines once again. joan is arrested in virginia for drunk driving. ted and joan's marriage is also in trouble, crumbling under the weight of joan's drinking problem and the rumors of ted's affairs. the family fractures in 1977 when joan moves out of the couple's virginia home and relocates to boston. >> their marriage had fallen apart really when joan had moved to boston. they weren't ever legally separated and they did see each other occasionally. >> ted remains in washington. he has established himself as a major voice in the senate and is positioning himself to run for the presidency in 1980, challenging incumbent president jimmy carter. >> i had no doubt that jimmy carter was going to lose to ronald reagan, and that if the democratic party didn't put up a real alternative, someone who was strong and seen as strong, that we would lose that election. >> kennedy's main legislative interest at that point was a

national health care system. kennedy became convinced that carter wasn't serious about it and thought carter was not -- not really a liberal enough democrat. >> today i formally announce that i'm a candidate for president of the united states. >> ted and joan reunite in the fall of 1979 as he becomes the third kennedy to run for president of the united states. >> you shake my hand? >> yes, i will shake your hand. >> the 1980 presidential campaign was in fact one of the wildest rides there has ever been in american politics. >> i have a mother who's 89 years young. >> he was awful at first. one of the worst campaigners i think i had ever seen. >> i bet many of you need to care for your feet. this is a need i find for, let's see some hands on that issue, too. >> there were enormous highs and

unbelievably depressing lows. >> the first of those lows comes early in the campaign. cbs news televises interviews kennedy had given to correspondent roger mudd earlier that year. >> kennedy was forewarned that these interviews he had agreed to were not going to be patty cake but tough. and yet he didn't prepare himself to answer a question that almost any senator in that building back there can discourse for you for ten minutes. >> why do you want to be president? >> well, i'm -- um, were i to make the announcement to run, the reasons that i would run is because i have a great belief in this country that it is -- there's more natural resources than any nation of the world. >> it was a bad answer. he hadn't thought it out.

kennedy speaks well but he sometimes is not good on the spur of the moment, and he was obviously terrible then. >> what is the present state of your marriage, senator? >> well, i think that it's a -- we've had some difficult times, but i think we have -- we have been able to make some very good progress. >> rogers' interview is much more important as a symbol and metaphor than it actually was as a news event. we watched this tongue-tied, unsure person who was basically at that time running for president because he thought jimmy carter had done a terrible job and he could do better but couldn't put it into words. >> the mudd interview may have hurt the kennedy campaign, but is soon eclipsed by a major

story emerging out of iran. >> good evening. the american embassy in tehran is in the hands of muslim students tonight. >> 53 americans are held hostage. the coverage of the hostage crisis pushes kennedy's name off the front pages and emphasizes carter's presidential authority in the face of a crisis. >> president carter was initially able to say when the american diplomats were taken hostage in iran that he wasn't going to campaign, he wasn't going to debate kennedy because he had to devote every hour and every minute to being president and trying to free the hostages. so even people who didn't necessarily like carter as president thought they had to vote for him to send a message to the iranians. >> and no matter what the headlines, for the kennedy campaign always there lurking in the shadows is chappaquiddick. >> as kennedy began to make progress, the carter campaign began to advertise on issues like judgment, character. and they tried to use these words, the synonyms for chappaquiddick. >> the voter must weigh both

record and character before deciding. >> according to the polls, people don't trust him quite as much as they trust president carter on a personal basis. >> i wish that were not the case. i don't happen to see -- i think that probably that's because of chappaquiddick. >> without chappaquiddick, it's pretty likely that teddy kennedy would have been president. it still might have been a difficult climb at a certain point, but without that scar behind him, without the defensiveness, he had a really good shot at the president. >> the air continued to leak out of the kennedy campaign, with losses in both iowa and new hampshire. >> how damaging would a defeat be, sir? >> well, i think it's always better to win than to lose. >> the new york primary will be a large chapter in the story of these democratic presidential contests. it was a classic case of one candidate coming from behind to win a big and important state when no one thought he could. >> we woke up on primary morning, and there was a lou harris poll in "the new york

daily news" that said we're going to lose by 20 points. and by 6:00 that evening, it was clear we were going to win by 20 points. >> the question is, is this a trend? i hope so. i like this trend better than the last trend. thank you very, very much. >> the victory in new york cheers the troops but kennedy knows his support is shallow. >> i interviewed him the first thing the next morning, and he started talking about how there was no question as he looked at the numbers the night before that people were voting against carter and not voting for him. >> despite the win in new york, kennedy knows that he is facing seemingly insurmountable odds, and so two days before the convention, he withdraws. >> will you campaign for his re-election? >> actively. >> how actively? >> actively. >> jimmy carter will accept the democratic nomination for his second term as president tonight. and after mr. carter's acceptance speech, senator edward kennedy, his defeated

rival, will join him on the podium. >> a defeated but spirited kennedy takes the stage. >> may it be said of our party in 1980 that we found our faith again. >> he started to give the speech, and you could hear the convention responding. >> 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. >> he got clobbered politically but what he salvaged became the agenda for his party for the next 25 years. coming up -- kennedy settles into his role as a liberal leader of the senate and faces more personal tragedy.

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where call or click today. advance the quabb'sprogressive. for liberal democrats, the presidential election of 1980 is a disaster. ronald reagan wins beating jimmy

carter in a landslide victory. democrats suffer the loss of 1 senate seats. kennedy is quick to reach across the aisle, gaining republican co-sponsorship on a variety of legislation. in a conservative senate, kennedy manages to stand his liberal ground. >> while he's a person of deep and strong principle, he's not a bitter partisan. i think people have come over time to understand that he's not just the democrat's democrat, he's the senator's senator. >> while kennedy can build consensus in congress, at home, the divisions are irreconcilable. in january of 1981, ted and joan announce they are getting divorced. >> joan later understanding that she's been an alcoholic from early on and teddy's active life both socially and politically must have drawn them apart. >> with children kara and edward in college and patrick in school near joan in boston, ted kennedy is on his own in washington.

he still harbors a desire to make another run for the presidency. but this time there is little support from his family. by 1985, kennedy announces that the senate is and will forever be his only home in washington. >> this decision means that i may never be president. but the pursuit of the presidency is not my life. public service is. >> when you run for president, people, i can tell you from firsthand experience, everything you touch around here becomes entirely enveloped in the context of the campaign. that's a handicap. in fact, of being a senator. i think he found that. >> it's possible that his effectiveness as a senator surpass what's might have been possible for him as a president. >> in 1991, ted kennedy's political achievements are undercut when allegations involving his nephew william kennedy smith surface. though kennedy smith is later acquitted, questions about ted's past with women and alcohol are dredged up once again.

but then later this same year at a personal cross roads, ted kennedy makes a fundamental turn around. >> i recognize my own shortcomings. the conduct of my private life. i realize that i alone am responsible for them. and i am the one who must confront them. >> within a year, kennedy is restructuring his private life. he meets attorney victoria reggie, a divorced mother of two at a dinner party being held in honor of her parents edmond and doris reggie. kennedy's personal friends. they instantly take a liking to one another and marry in 1992. >> i had known vicki before. but this is the first time i think i really saw her. and beyond the very obvious features of being a lovely, warm and attractive intelligent person, i realized that i wanted

to spend the rest of my life with her. >> but the personal blows keep coming. >> a dark day for america -- >> by the time john f. kennedy jr. died, jackie was dead, jack was dead, so once again, teddy has to become the member of the family who represented the family, and had to carry the burden of the funeral. >> kennedy's resilience helped him not only personally but politically as well. he is at home in the senate, the consummate legislator, the liberal lion. >> this has been the go-to guy for countless organizations dealing particularly with american who's don't have much of a voice. >> it's hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands, millions of people whose lives are -- >> he believes the government exists for ordinary people, not for the powerful. the powerful don't need government in the same way that ordinary people do. >> it is a mark of ted's greatness that he does not care

who gets the credit as long as the job gets done. >> do you love america? >> yes! >> he's fought for the poor. he's fought for the disenfranchised and children and the elderly. he fights for people who don't have big lobbying budgets and big k street representatives. >> we must demand in america that helps the homeless, feeds the hungry, breaks the cycle of poverty, and replaces welfare with work. >> in his fifth decade in the u.s. senate, ted kennedy maintains considerable influence. >> the fundamental test of our society is how it treats the least powerful among us. >> kennedy remains the custodian of the heart, the mind, and the soul of the democratic party. >> as a senator, edward kennedy has probably changed more things in american the life than any president has. >> i feel change in the air.

what about you? >> in january, 2008, he creates huge buzz when he endorses president barack obama's presidential bid. then in may, a frightening diagnosis after kennedy suffers a seizure at his hinesies port home. he has a malignant brain tumor. kennedy keeps an upbeat attitude, even going sailing shortly after returning home from the hospital. he has surgery at duke university medical center to have as much of the tumor removed as possible. and faces radiation and chemotherapy. but his treatment does not prevent a determined kennedy from energizing the crowd at the democratic convention in august. >> i have come here tonight to stand with you, to change america, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals, and