from nbc news in washington this is "meet the press" with daefd gregory. this sunday special edition. remembering senatordward m. kennedy who was laid to rest yesterday evening along se his brotrs at arlington nationa cemete. with us to honoris remarkae li in ceer a public office maria river, first lady of cafornia and daughter o his

sist uninceshrive and kathen kennedy tosend,he he wouldest child o his brother, robert f. kennedy. two his clost colleags in the senate, fellow senator fro massachusetts john kerry and chris do of connecticut. plus, democratic strategist bob shurum long-time political advisor to theenat who helpedri his fams speh of the 1980emoctic national convention. >> the work goes on. the cause endus. the hope still lives. d the dream shall never die. >> and psidential historian doris kear goodwin who author he fitzgerds and the kennedys." captions paid foby nbc-universal television

♪ ♪ friday evening after the moving memial svice in boston, i sat down at the kennedy libraryith hisiece ria shver, and asked her what the tremendous public outpouring meant to her a her family. >> i thinkhat it's extrrdinary. i think dving from hyais porto bosto it s so moving to see pple staing along the freeway gathered on bridg, entirefalies, many inars. boys wit their hands overheir hear saluting. it was areat pce ofmecan hiory that youere ae to dre by, and this was a week day in the mdle of the day, so ople obviously had to ms worktake vacation, park tir cars and wait to just watch a

hearse go by, and i tught it was so geners of the pple and moving. it sometng i thinkeddy would havbeen so thrild bow an hbled by. >> it'snteresting for theast several days we hear so mh about the career about the sues, abo the paion. yet, at this memorial service you heard about the man, a you understo that public service for him was aboutther people, about serving people. >> ll, teddy was, i think, known tthe people w kw h m -- hiseart was extraordinary. he was the most passione n, and thinke worke that way because he himself knew pain, knewstruggle, abandoent. he knew all of thehing tt ins a human being, a so when he saw oer hum beingn pa or wre their cracter was questioned orhey had st,

he waslways the first pern to rch t, and nody does at who hast felt that way themselves, and i think tt was something that people oen overlookedbout m, didn't understand about him, but this waa man who had thought t, stggled a t, who hadeen throh a lot, an he understood when other peoe als wen through a lot, and i think you have that ououring because people,egular people, undetood that about him. they saw through all of the labels they saw through, you know, what people wrote. they sawhis was man who unrsto fami, who understood struggle, who unrstoodriumph and who undetand, yo know, weaknesses. we all have that. i think rarely doou sit. >> what has iteen like as you watc all of thi coverage and

theye watchg the faly, and wondering h everybody is. the predent said this wasn't unexpected, t it wasdrded. how has evebodyeendoin >> ihink people hav often sa, well, it wn't a surpri. welli think death is aay a surpse. i've just gone through two in two eks, and it's always rprise, and it's always final, and it's always difficult, and i think op geve in the own way and their own time. i think teddy was one o those rger than life figes in our fami. he was really the cter o our family and he was o o tse people thatou never expecd to die. you just expected himo beat the odds yo expected h to -- i think anybody who has been throu cancer knows the ups and down one dat's bad. one day it's good. you, i think, alwaysope that this person is going to beat the

odds. >> ye has bee called the rock of the family, andhis referred to your mother,hoou lost justn the pas f weeks. another rock of the family. it a lot of loss in o time. >> it's a lot of lo. 's a l of pain, buoth of them lived extraordinary lives, and they lived lives tt had purpose, meaning,hatad a missn. rember someone once sai if you don'tave a idea, what do you have? whe is your idea? what are you doing? think bot o these peoe had greaideas, and they fought their whole lives to make them alit a ihinknef the thin tha i think io great aboutmummy, aunt kennedy is the dution of their sight. i tnk we liv in a wld today that about instant ccess, instant gratification. you fht for somethin you expect toet it in a week bothummy and teddyought

their entire live their entire ves. 40ears, 50 yrs to give ople with ielleual sains the same rights a everyby else. it took h litime tochieve that. teddyoughtis eire life for althare an all of t gislation you heard tked a about. whether it's five yea or ten years,nd many people willed m off. none of th things that h accomplished would havbeen accompshed. i think both o them are incredible test amounts to h ng this kes, how hd one hato accomplish mething, and i think we've lost sightf that in this country and anything whether it'sjourlism politics people eect you to get eleed esent andolvellhe proble mediately. you see how lon they had t stay in there and keep hammering away andammering away,nd think that that giv u hop for thpele thare

disillusioned that ty didn't get something don right away if you look at peopleike that and say, w, they accomplished a lot,ut it too a long time. >> you tal abo health ca. you watched whawas happening in shington did it feel like he was really on the vgefeeing his dream reized? >> i think he thought wh the ection o boem obama this country was on the virj of seeing so many of hisream realed, and i think that will be realized. i thk aot has been written out how much h voi has be missed, and i think ithas. i think perhapsust his pasng will iigorat people to get it ne, and he gave s life to thatbut he ge his life to so ma things. he saw so much of what he fought for colished. >> there's an image from the convention lt year. he was wipingears away as he spoke abt what he kashd about,

health care, and other events, and, fortunately, as an advocate for barack obama. itas kind of good-byend a long go-bye, but h had that nextyear. what washa final year like? >>well, i think it s for me wahinghis fal yearas autiful becau i think there have been a lot of things written about teddy or t year andt hasn't all bn complimentary, and i think for someone to have that kind of love com at you is a ver powerful thing. i think it's more than many people everxperience in their litime i think it was alessg for teddy th he sbleoee that his work was appreciated, that hisife had been valued, thateoplenderstood. heccepd the love. it's so hard to aeptlove, an let it come at him, and i thinkhat s so beautul that

he got to live a seeow peop appreciated him and that people came up to him a thanked m, and hould feel th kind of gratitude. >>eot to experienc something his broersdidn't, which is to experience how pele felt out him. >> i think very few people -- i think thas another less in al of th. i'm big believerhat peoe rarely know how peopl feel outh in eir lives. we run around and we forget to stop and tell people how important eyre andow loved eyare,nd how gratefu we are, and i think teddy got t see at, and right after m mom died and heasn't ae to come tohe funeral, ientve to see him two wks ago, and i just said to him, i want to thanyou for being theost extraordinary brother to my mother. eryeah incidente was er for my brothe for myself. heasn everymergcy room all across thiscountry, every icu room.

heame in and cheer herup i said iave nevereen such an extraordinary brher, and i said i have nev seen such an extraordinary uncle. i wanto thank you for everything you have done for me, everything you did for my mother and my family,nd i love you, and i'm so gtefu that i had that moment, and i learned tha from him, and fm pple leaving at there's never a mont like t moment dd understd that. >> he was walkingaroline down the aisle, a aer t wedding jackie wrote him this ne tha included are you the reful yogest broth bell a hero, sec parents, los children, desolate lives. you are a ro. everyones going to make it because you a alwaysthere, yo love. >> everydy did make it, and we've all madit, and we've all en inspired by his love.

i think his example, his inspiration. i think if you rlly step back h who li, it wast perfe rfect, b it was his life, and he was great patriot. he was a greatdvocate of public service. he was a great family rkor many families, and he s here we would all feel -- he was really adamant tha wwoul all feel his presence in ourves, and we did. i think, you know, that is a life well lived. 's the lifef -- there was a life of rpose. he lived e. life of rpose,passn,nd meaning. >> he s able to take stock of hi life in this final year i way that he wanted too it. what dyou think that s like r hi >> well, you know, ihink y never know. i think it becomes, machini other thin,t comes from genetion that didn'talk muchbout feelings, but i think

he was an intro spektive man, d i tnke looked at his lifend tnk he accted his life as his own. he accepted hisriumph and weaknesses,nd i think that that's a greatign o strength in any han being that ty can acpt their wle life. he ledis own fe,nd he lived life his parents would have beeprou of. i think he worked really hard to make h parents, particularly himother, proud of him. he worked very hard to mak his sisters prdf him. this was a manho really took the concept of family to a whole other level. my children had relationships with him. dot know anyther great uncle that operates le that. >> you tol onef his

biodafrs that it was so portanfor him to know him use was about the family, itas aut the history, it was about whatt meant to be iris roo oh, you know, was - he real wted all of us to know about our irish rige our puic svice hetageand he also wanted us toave fun, and he neverot down on you when you de a miste. he was aaysencouring. i thin that's because of the life he lived. you kn, thi he is the youngest of nine kids he had formible figures t live up to, and henderstd how that weighn auman being, and i thinkhat's what bught out his empathy and compassion, d i thi as you g through the city, i met woman uthere tonight o said thater child ha been murdered and los a teddy reached outoer and heed her wit legislation and

changed r life and gave her purpose and she w wearing a button of her daughter and i meet people, you kn, every day thatomep toe about teddy, mummy, teddy, jack. say do yo know that peoe turn out not to people who h their goals for makingoney or whwere in search of fame, but peleurn out for people who wanto make the world a better. they ner went out take ney. th never went out to get on a ality show and bece fams get on tv. they went out tohange the world. people get that. >>here are s man americans whhave no connectiono your fami and, yet, the feel someing visceral with the loss of yr mother a now theoss tdy kennedy tha i really is the end of sh a distinct era r kennedys. >> we, i thinkice prident

bidenddressed that bsaying, you know, i don't thinkhis the d ofhe kennedys, but i thk that wl be written, tha it's the endf ana, that the kennedysre fished and i thk really the goalor each huma being,hether your name kennedy, shriver, gregory, or whatever, it's to live you fe, the life that you choose, that's inourheart, thas out somethg bigger th yourse yourlf. we'll see. >> tre'still living legy r aounger generaon. >> thas a vael value. ever since i grew up, ever sin i was,ea 4 or wch one are yo e you going to run for presidt? at a you -- you know, people should be, you know -- teddy lived his life. mommy lived her life. uncle jack and uncle bby and thishole library is abo people whoived their les and chged the world. tnkverybo should have

that right. >> now we eoaned here in washington byed kennedy's close frien and cleague in the sete,ohn kerry. senar, i'm glad you're here. >> that wa a great, great interview. >>well, she had so my personal things to say. wl- >> there's been so much talk i the last few days about ted kennedy, theil, and on said s mingl and told a story abou practicing unt the dinneras cold on a friday night getting ready to raise his own, and hisad said to him ere are otr peopl who are arter and more talented, but we'll win becse we'llork the hardest. u'veeen m u close in the senate. how did tt translate to his work a alegislor? >> well, he wa a very, very astu legislator, and itasn sn't -- teddy superb as a stat tigstack tigs. he h an uncanniability four the ebb and flow in mrekz and movement of the senate. there is a life in the senate.

teddy understood it. so hrely knew how to proa his colleagues and kne when t ment was right. i canemembero man tim at they s we're going to do this andu sore scratch your head. is this going to rk? you have a sse of how to d , ho to t people in the right place at the right time. he aays hadn abity to attrt superb staff, ae are all about the senate epnt on the ilities of our staff. ted ju could get the most out of ople. was alway thinkin not where whe we were,ut about wre heanted toind out and h we were going tet there. it wasn't dissimilar t preparin f the race ando th lessons. >> tre were couple of picturesfou, y and senat kenned bac i1971.

you ha come back from vietnam, you and oth veterans were protting on the ll, and he came t meet with you, and you id that was an iortant even and then later i 1985 then senor kry and a wonderl inscrtion quoting humphr bogt at the beginning of wonrf iendship. wh did you teachoubo being politici, about being a senator? >> da, when i first got involv in politics i thought that politics wasust abouthe sues you know, you believe th, you believe that, you fight for this, uightor th. wh teddy swed m is tha politics -- and this is slightly contrary to what tip o'neil said when he said all politics is cal. allolits is rsal. th's reallyhat ted taught a t of us i think. it is personal andou oughto have f doing it. i ally learned how to have more fun. you outnd yre awfully serious and you takeouelf too seriously. quoted in the comment i me on

friday, you know ted said you want toakehe issues seriously,utou don take yourself t seously, and he really was good at that. i might also comment on something i thought when lieng toaria you know, iaid onriday that the sweetest of all seasons was a gift of this perioofime at we had with tey, and ink it was because athe nventi, at the birthday party here in washington at the kennedy center, a harvard, when he went tohe whi use, whe he came t the for inhe sete, the was just thi outpouringf love, and it was just very, ver ming he had beeniving so much of it over time. he got to experience it. >> mia said he was fightg a

t of tt me. there was -- tey's life was not easy. there was a long period ofime where ted feared for h life. a lot of people don realize th. i mean after bby kennedy was assassined, ted really beeved that he s next, a there were my itances in wayshat he tried torote hielf o tried to, y know guarantee athat didn't happen, bu there were struggles. therwas a lot of difculty in facing up to the massivemoun of loss a so many people often comment you on how did ted do it? these huge figure jo during t wa jacks president. bobby as a candidate for priden all fel on him. s niec, nephews, and, i mean, what a statement last

nightn the hill as the dark dusklouded aros and t cameras we all out and pple were jus moving away, and just this sea of childn surroundi the coffinust heads bed on it and theros, you know, on the topf it. iteally gavehe full meaning his family impornceohe center that he waso his family. >> youaid something now yourself. you said ted kenne was a leader, knowing h to carry on for s family and for his colleagues aer such tragy. you now sit whheact that you are the senior senor from massachusetts. how does that fi iokep this morning, and still have tuble believing that he inot ere. as maria just sa, you havo li you life.

dot try to be somebody se. don't go outnd try to fill shs or do someing. ju be yourselfnd fight the fight,s we fght the tother over these las years. there are a lot of pple in the senate who undstand the mission. chris dodd tom harkin, you kn know, brown and the cntle people that will carry on and, u know, do their besory to -- you know, the cause endus. e fight goes on. >> want to bringn chris dodd, another close friend and ca coeague. senator dodd, i want tosk you about sothing that s so poignant that ce out of the funeral yeerday from hisson. he saidy da taught me how to li republicansecause he said they are just theind of patriotsey love thi country asuch as i do, a there out there fiting the same kind fight. yet, your cleaguend fend lamented inecent years thatt became harde t work across the

aisl that bipartisanship w something that was fading away. what happened? >> it's not about partisanship. i think that had its momts and it peaks and valleys. it's stability in the pross more thannythinelse there's appeareen bipartisanship. it's wre you know where y are and wch bod you serve. as john just so eloquently said he understood the rhythms of the place. wesed toase, david,ith nemembers, are we going t te o friysr not? i would y, listen, you fd t what ted knedy is doing on thursday night. if he is hding to hnnis port onhuday night, there will no votes onfriday. don'arehat the leadership tells you. teddy understoodhat was going to happen in that pla better th st, and that ideaf comingack now after september 8th, we get backn session, if you want to honor tey's mery, it's to come backnd sort of, as i said thether night, st of put us the

blisteng days of august and to entethe cl days oeptemb and star actg like senators again where we respectach othe there a differences. u brg that parsansto the tab. yowork out your diffences. that's wt we eleed to do. that's what teddy unrstood. it'shye wa good at it, as john soell pointed out. was a tack tigs, a master of the place. he understood it. he alsonderoohis colleagues, ande was willi to listen to them. he paid attenti to them. they brought goo ias to the table. if you do all of tho ing, then you can achve the kind of results that teddy achied and th the sene as a bod has achievedhiorically, and if you abandon cility, then you'll be in trouble. foo nor dodd, youea march gentleman --aria shriver reinvigorating the talks about health care. how do youhi that happens after e h days of august? >> i think t preside has to decide to ste up andeally frame this for us. the leadership can do it. harry re, ithk, has worke

hard. i know max baucus is wking hard on t fance committee. we put a bill back togetr in july, as you ow, dad. dds commiee, was asked to chair temporarily forhim. a good bill. was 300mements as part of thateffo. mo of th technical, but many are substantive. that bill has be sitting ll. we'rread to work on that along with the finan committee and to mov rward. that's wt needs to happen here. my belie is that if we c g the bills tethernd s down with each other,e can pruce a songvibrant, villyeeded heah care reform legislation of accessibility, of course quality, and afforble. i wt to get fin thought. first from you senator dodd you sit hehis morning after all the emotion of the past week, what is the meaning of senator keedy, theannd the legislator that you are thinking about this rning? >> well, john, i think saidt very well. onehing that was so ffict.

how dyou capre 30 years o friendship in eight or ten minute s abilit toovercome adrsity was stunning to me. i mean, i just -- what he wt through and to come back day after day, tefter ti. he usedo say that all of our diffulties, he wou say whatever you're worried aut toda i pmise you a year from today yowon'tememr . if you wry about sething se a year from now, b y won't worry aboutthis. bught that kind ofitalit to his life that ihink is itical forvery human bein i don't care whatou adog. each and evene of usas t sort of ge up every day and confront your life as it is and make the best of , and do something lger than urlf. ma a ntributi. that's teddy's message, more thannything else. >> senat dodd, thankyou. senator key, ted kenne thought about succsion. thought about whooulde i the senate aft him. do you think you would lik a kennedy be ther >> sure, but he is t makin

that decision, and who knows? that'sot what it'sabout, and i think tt was not what h efforts were abt. he wanted the ve protected during this critical moment and only forhat moment. it woun't upset the process of having an econ. massachutts will oose, as it ought to choose, but in the metime, s cause of a litime heah care and other issues ofreat importance global climate ange, a othe will t be adverly impactedy the aence o the vote, and that's critical. can i just say one thing? yestery driving in, david, it was so stunninghese peoe lining the roa and you couldn't help b think how teddy had made ttourney himself wn constitutio avenu and over tohe cemeterynd he has beenhe fac of the ments of remembran, if youill acdent for bobby, for ja. you remember himp there with

etl, with vicky,ith joe, and w he is the. itort of hit us that, you know, it's a generational shift, but not t end of a era. wh ted did --here was one sign i sa the ople's senator. it was han scribed. it wasuch aenui kwout poing as a thank you for fighting f people, and thi if wll remr tha and try oubest to continue to just stayocus odd --ocused on why wee here, the we'll honor him. sator kerry, senator dodd, thank youothery much. we haveore hereoming up more o senor kennedy's life and legy with his nce then knedy townse, ng-time kennedy advis bob shrum, and presidential hiorian dor kearns goodwin, and a special lock backt setor kenny's 45-year history pearg on this ogram. it's cominup only on "meet the pres"

mo on the late tedennedy and th highlht of his appearanceays spaing 45 ars on "meet t press" after th briefommercial break.

ted kennedyas the ln of the nate, brut he was also the cuof the kennedy family, and it w as young man, just 30, at he made his very first appearan here on "meet the press." in fact, his moth,rose, wrote lett in 1965 tohis program's en moderatoroting he boys john, robert, and teddy each made their debut on the ogram aund theame you age. >> sths a stickle and kep her de boxo shenew the facts about every one of us a we we sort of growing up. is was -- i c remembe when my brother was a congssma and on "meet e press." it was in the winter time, and my motrndathe bught us l in thisas theiggest thing that's er happened to any

kennedy,nd it was always a b deal >> rorter: a big deal and te. that's how kenneds brher, thpresidt, saw it on the eve of d's debut he i1962. >> i thought reall h everytng under contl. then came to washington to visit my bthver in th white house. it was on a friday or saturd. he said, teddy, you go over the and sit behind the de, bend thepresent's sk, an i'llome on in here,nd h said we're going to - we'll be the panel and ask you some qutions. ju sitting there made me tremble. theysk you about three question i sai i'm going back to preparing some more. at the end o it he said ddy. >> that first pearance came just three days after kenne anunced h candidacy for the sena seat vacatedy his brother john duri the interew, there was already intest in the prospect of a kennedy political dynasty.

>> i wonderf you could tl us hoyou feel about the presence of a family such aours occupying that number of key positions in amecan life. >>f youre tking about too much keedys, you should have lk toy mother and father the timehenhey were geing started. >> tha issue of a family dynay wld follow him throughout his first campaign. >> all i'm asking is i be judged on my own alities andhe ability in which i would represent and effec arogram for ourstate, and i would certainly be confint that many ofhe cynic with mds that cod be changed. >> lesshan two years later ted kennedy had to address the fure of that dynasty in th wa of h brher's assassation. >> what is the future ofhe kennedy family with interl dynamics for the democratic party? >>well, to thextent that we'reommitted to the ideals d pgramsf president kenny and as they have been

further supported and by presidentjohnson. we'll do everying we possibly ca to dedicate ourlves to th ideals which the president lives d the -- >>enator kennedy would be a prominent voicen this program for cades. the longest time span o any guest. he voiced support for the war in vietm early . >> i sport our commitment i belve that it is funment and it is soubd. i belve we have to utize every resourc in our power, whether it's milaryr diplomatic, to see that this ssion is fulfled. >>eporr: nearly 25 yrs later he s aierce critic of the decision to invadeiraq. >> nucar weapons. at's t d orgaze. th's the misrresentation. that's the lie. >>eporter: kennedy appre when he had something important to say on issues like hlth care >> we m he a financing

system tha awards sicknes and iless for payg the program. we oug to pvide financial incentivesor keeping peopl healthy rather than treating them whenhey're ill and ck. we can cia bilonsf dollars on . atind an alternative i think we ought to be addressing. we han't. >>eporter: always a fiee advocate f his ises, b early on mh morecoy about h biti. >> do you hop to seday run for esidt? >>well, i would say that havin seen the problem of my brothe i just wonder whether that seinthatob is really worth it. i wou hope to effectively be able toe a public service t thpeople in my hometate and to effecthe intest in the cotruct i way. >> reporr:ears lat h did n, and as acandide,e was asked s fitness for offe in th wake of the accint.

>> theact o the matter is ve been impacted ove the course of my life by a series of crisis, by a series oftragedy. lost my brothers under the most tryg a tragic circumstans. i have also faced the illnes and sicess o a child thas en impte by cancer. i've had other tragees in my life. i have responded to those challenges by, oncting responsibly, and, two, by the continuing commitment that i have for plic service. rirchlgt afterhat 1980id kennedy refcted on the campaign. >> i'm the first to ackwlge thate did make miakes, and ere he been inadequacs in campaign. i suppose even iny own performance during the course of thcaaign, wch i am quite preparedo acknowledge. >> reporter: yea later kennedy addressed thatne elusiveoa and hi life's wo.

>> do you regret havg never enlected president? >> well, i fout for it and di't mak it. i would hav liked to certainly athe te tt i brsh i love the senate. >> tnk weost degree grae th he got the hangf it. are now joid by ted keedy's niece kathleen kennedy townsend, presidentl historian dos rn odwin, and the lo-time psidentldvisor bob shrum. kathleen, our deest mpathies, and 're very thankful you're herehis morng to share yr thoughts wher >> well, thank you. want to thank all of you folks acrosshe count and really thworld who have been so outpouri of love and affecon andhanks t my une. i want tols say vickie h done anxtraordiry job over e last few days. >>ou seehat tape. just onhis program, the legy on this program is rlly something. >> it's eraordinary because all e time, as he sa, despite th tragedy, despite his

own mistes, h says you can keepfightingand i think, you know, a aiecend mberf this family,t was iortant for all of uso see this -- o uncle ithtoughestimes never giving upnd saying to ch ofs you c dt too. pitts helping us and blding us. i'telling you,ouow, we werealking earlier ith greeoom aboutow it tough not to have a father. he reached outnd erady familynd -- >> we tk about legacy, and you look backwards as a historian, butou lk forward as ll. in thi circumstance the presidentalked about kennedy as the satorf our time.

wher sderank >> it dends o historian. i think i might beble to say that n only is he thereatest leslat ofur ti,hich is wh presidentbama said he may b t greest all-ound senator of our time. whathen nato john kendy would have been in the1950s he created a mmittee. teddy share all the quities. henry clayhe gat legislator. dael webster, the great orator. teddy may t havead t stern orory, but y have taf a norris and the vious progress soutasts who all their lives fought for that cause. fough for the leb cal caus setor van denbur he isll of those things. at the same timee made t people in msachetts fl ke he s one of them. ihought when we were sitting giluring the days tha he was take memorl seice, that

yoant those people to come through,rdinary people. every one the kne him. governor ckard said i knewim befo i met him. the pele in massachusts met him. you see the peoe coming. th'r saluting him. their red sox hat ces on or theye doing the sign of the cross. they all have a story. he tls held mygrandmother. he helpe my so he was ther he put all those things together. i think he might be the greatest all-around senator o allti. >> bob,ou wer so clo to him thughout hisareer, but in that 1980 bid, tim russert asked out t achievi it. i guess he joked. ion't mind not bng prident. just min that somody else . he said thatllhrough the 70 he didn't mindhat barack obama beme presint,nd i think he played an instrumental role in it i think he would say that- he did s that the 1980s he spept tomuch time thinking whether to run for president and not oughime thinkg abo what

he was going to say when he g out there. the lead he had ithe polls to makeure he didn't offend anyone, and ts led to in the initial stagesf the camign not ying ch. well, ted kennedy happed to be the wst politician i err m inyifet saying noing. he wasaybe the best politician ever ss saying something, and actually i tnk the oror motivate peop, stirr ople, gave them a sense ofis purpose, and o people give od speees, and i think he gave unlievable speeches, b then h went and made those eees become parof theife and fabric of the country. from t americans with disabilities act. there are six million kids in this country that are covered with heah insurance today because him. he led into l t law to sto apartheid and stop sanions agains south afca. you cod put down a list of 50, 60, or 70 gigantically

successful pieces of legisli legislion. sd i'vead the mt exaordinary reer. he could claim a of them. >> let me k you about another aspect of his psonal life, the peonal sugglesnis life. there was pper a poignant letter that he wroteo t pope that was read last night. i wanto put a porti of it up on the screen. most holy father i asked president ama to personay hand diver this lette to you. i am writing with deep to asks you pray for me as my own health deeans. i was diagnosed withra cancer more than a yea ago, and althou iontie trtment, the disease is tingts toll on me. i am 77 years old and preparing for the next passage ofife. i havbeen bssed to be a part of of a wonderfulamily and both of my parent particularly myother, kept ouratholi faith at the center of our ves. that gift o faith h sustaineurtured and provid solis to me in the darkest urs. i kn that i have been a imperfechuman ing, butit the help of my fah, i have tried t right m path.

athln, the imperfect part of his being was very public. how did heake --ake stockf that in the end? >> have to sa i think that's e of thereat important parts of the catholic faith. we ud to joke we werehe churchf sinrs rather than the church of saints, and, thefore, we're all sinners, and c pra to god and say are you goin to believe that i can make sething better of my fe rather than sayingou can never come back, and tt is really what i think the catholic ith is. yo s tha yesrd when the cardinalwere there,he priests were the. they we saying this man is going t heave because he was thereor the lst among us, and i think -- i can't remember whsaid th, butou c't take your o faults a say,

i'm so bad. can' dnythinelse. some of us feelhat we're not worthy, and heouldn' l that sensf judgi himself t sp him fro dng somethingbeer and that h gre spiritu undersnding that i tnk he shar with- is a inspiration to people of my faithed. >>s a public figure, a politian, he had to come to e grips with the facthathe public treed tho kinds of indiscretions in his era than ey did in his brothes era, anhad t adjuso that. >> i think that whateve weaknesses, whatever happen, had toive itut in public in way that mt people, mos of us, would in ivat thle is right. he never let i interfere with m. there was always f me an inedible sense of characte this wasomeoneho in 1980 everodsaid he is boundo win the nomination. he is on his y. thing will stop m. when things got tough, whe he went into theark alley, he

just kept going. he inspired everybody in tt campaign. we all ended up notetting id, i mean because w had no money. he inspire evebody in that campai to keepgoing. did little thing that really matterednd showed incredible generocity of spit. were down theren the ristmas bere wn we thought we wergoin to debate presidt caer but it got canceled because the predent said head to teare of the hoage isis. henew my parents livedot very far away. heaid whyon't you have my parents come over and have dinner withy mother and me. my mother, her fst reaction wai can't possibl do that. have toav my hair done. fathe sai we're going to go. we went over there, and she had brokener leg earlr. they tked aboutheir blessed mother. anhour,ou and ahalf. hehowed my father and my nephew around that hse and told tm everythin that had happened, and they cld have been the leader of another

country the wayereated them. you know the cros peoe were talking out wrish wasn't surprise to see theead up to his ath afterwa what jushlists idhat htorians idwhat oers said all those people standg out the somehow or other got it they got that he had changed theilis, and it such privileg to be a small part of that. >> i want to add -- >> you dve by ank u. thank you. thank you. god bless you. >> to go t you point, hemiway once sai tt eryby is broke byife, and afterward many are strong, and that all you can askf a peon is that they -- wn he you lookt thleer to t pope, it was a much deeper felt than what was on "meet the press." that sound more defensive. he had absorbed i think tho pains, the imperfections, the thin that he did, and all you can dis ask that person to become strong and make upor it

byoing everythin y can. >> in19 we rehearsed that answer, th letter. that lteramerom his heart. >> wo >> can i end on something - what i have taken from the last few days is the enduring lesso of persevance, and there's a couple of thgs iant t show. thaftermath of that crash in 1964hat almost tk his life, and u see the determination on his face waving tohe crowd after he had been so severely inred. then t ima of las yea at the convention despi suc peonalpain,uch physica pa. made a pnt of being there. i thinkhat was most poignt washe lesson that h son talked about at the funer yestday, that a a kid losing hiseg andis dad wanted to take him o to go sledng and he fell and ride and sd i don't ink ianothis. th is what he said. >> fell onheice, and started to c, and i sd i can't do th.

i said il nev b ae t climup tt hill. lifted me up in his strong, gentle arms and sd sometng i ll neverforget heai i know you can do . theris nhing that you can't do. we're fwg -- going to cli that hl gether,ven if it takes us a da >> just ten seconds left. that's a legacy. >> i think tegacy in rose and joseph kennedy w said to their childr peevere, get someing do, make a differen. >> tnk you all for sharing your thoughts o what has been an emotionly exhausting past coup of days. thank you all very much we'll be back after this brief station break wh some final scenes from this weekend.

that is all for today. we'll be back next week. if it's nday, it's "mee the

press". we lea you now psete ts week fewell to senator ted keedy. ♪ ted kennedy was the baby of the family. he bece a patriarch. a restless dreer who became a rock. he had such a big heart, and he shared that heart with all of us. at the end of the day it wa never about m. he waslways aboutyo a truly remarble caricature.

>> in th e those in repose are grving as we speak. in the end a darling rose no longer has to e. i wlissy irish frie. god bwithyou. untiwe meet again. ♪ >> i looked up, d there w this o star hanging l in the sky th was just bigger tn all threst andrighrhan all the res. he had a twinkle and -- that was brighterhan all the rest. i kw it was jupir, but i wacting a lotik ted kenned

♪ >>he work goes on. >> t wor goes on. >> theause endus. the hop still lives, andhe dream shal never e. i love you. always ll,nd i ms you ready. -- captio by vita -- www.vitac.m

caions bvitac -- w.vitac.com