had he lived, he was the one that joe sr. thought would have been the man to go into politics and carry that kennedy legacy into the future. when joe jr. died, then that burden of carrying the family legacy fell onto jack. >> in 1946, 29-year-old jack ran for congress for massachusetts' 11th district cutting in front of local politicians who had been waiting patiently for the seat to open. the year before he died, while beginning to dictate his memoirs, jack confessed to having been something of a carpet bagger. >> i was an outsider really. i'd never lived very much in the district. my family roots were there but i had lived in new york for ten years and on top of that i had gone to harvard, not a particularly popular institution at that time in the 11th congressional district. >> the kennedy tactics for 1946 would be used in following campaigns. one was an astute use of public relations, image building. joe sr. had been a hollywood mogul and knew how to promote. >> he basically would go on and took hollywood publicity techniq

joe sr. thought would have been the man to go into politics and carry that kennedy legacy into the future. when joe jr. died, then that burden of carrying the family legacy fell onto jack. >> in 1946, 29-year-old jack ran for congress for massachusetts's 11th district, cutting in front of local politicians who had been waiting patiently for the seat to open. the year before he died, while beginning the dictate his memoirs, jack confessed to having been something of a carpet bagger. >> i was an outsider really. i had never lived very much in the district. my family had lived there but i had lived in new york for ten years and on top of that i had gone to harvard, not a particularly popular institution at that time in the 11th congressional district. >> the catholics would be used in succeeding campaigns. one was an astute use of public relations, image building. joe sr. had been a hollywood mogul and new how to promote. >> he took hollywood techniques and applied them to politics. >> fortunate

a few months later, joe kennedy sr. suffers a series of strokes. although the strokes leave him almost unable to speak, joe emits a father's pride when ted announces his decision to leap into electoral politics, running for the senate seat left vacant by his brother jack. >> i'm announcing today my candidacy for the senate of the united states. >> president john f. kennedy does what he can to ensure that his younger brother wins the democratic primary. >> i will introduce myself. i am teddy kennedy's brother, and a and i'm glad to be here. >> capturing 69% of the vote. >> when i first met ted kennedy back when i was a kid in hike school, high school, in between high school and college, i was a full-time volunteer, full-time gopher, and he was this young, just 30-year-old candidate for the senate. and i saw a guy who was driven as a lot of the kennedy family in public life have been, that we can do better at things. that we can change things around us. >> ted kennedy is elected to the senate in 1962, gaining the seat with virtually no prior political

publicity techniques and applied them to politics. >> fortunately, joe, sr., also had a good product to sell. lieutenant kennedy had rescued his crew when his pt boat was rammed by a japanese destroyer, a story joe, sr., got reprinted in "reader's digest" and then handed out 100,000 free copies to local voters. to the amazement of many old hands, the thin, young upstart won. if you love politics and love this country, you are going to love this hour on the kennedy brothers. it airs next thursday at 7:00 eastern right here on the place for politics, msnbc. >>> up next, as the hot fight over health care overshadows some good economic news that just came out in the last couple of hours actually. when will president obama start getting some credit for this news? we'll have that back at you if you want to feel a little better over the weekend. that's coming up on "the fix." >>> let's talk about that big ridge report. boy, if tom ridge in this new book is going to make some noise over the weekend. the fact he's charging his colleagues in the bush administration with playing politics. back

they go out on sunday to the old west church had the italian and irish immigrants and in joe sr.aid so did jack and bobby that kennedy was the most natural campaigner and a natural politician and it has to do with his position in the family. he had to fight for air time and took on the role of the family mascot. he was fun and the petof the mily. they spoiledim and loved him and he did it very well. >> i want you to share with us some of the letters to your credit that you uncovered. those letters are just remarkable and speak to have a family shaped his personality. of course, he is the want in the letter the is that aspect but the letters are extraordinary. >> but kennedy member never threw anything away apparently. [laughter] whichas my pleasure i spend a lot of time in the jfk library and went through files and joe sr. bios and what i found, the kennedy parents are ally tough. peter said come you have these images of great football games in hyannis port, sailing, and that is true and gave all of their children privileges of wealth but they expect a lot i return. that was the

but that fami, joe kennedy sr.'s family, rose kennedy's family this is gone. the brothers are gone. e kennedy jr. dies in world war ii then the responsibility goes on to jack's head. jack dies it goes on to bobby. bobby goes on to teddy. teddy carried it in a way, the caboose of the family, used to call him the little guy, he became the engine of is family, the patriarch of not only the senate but of his mily. you know when he was born, jack at 14 wanted to call him george washington because he was born on washington's birthday. think about how much of his life though, washington will be remembering. he is one of the great senators of all time. >> and they're missing quite simply, their neighbor here in hyannisport re tonight. my thanks to you both for coming by. doris kearns goodwin and mike barnacle as they say in this part of the country. when nbc "nightly news" continues here in just a moment. more on the death of senator ted kennedy and a look at some of this day any other news. the beauty of nature. sharing what i see. that's my vision. and i'm living it. every day, transitions

think of it joe, sr. and his casket coming over the bridge. and you think of john, jr.. and you think of all of those things at every tragedy the family has been through. and you also think of the man ted became and how it seems appropriate now. it did not always seem that it would end this way, that he would be so distinguished, and have so many people turn out for these events. there is a deep well in of the motion when you see those kind of images. every image you see of the kennedy family evokes something different and something powerful. martha: we were just watching when they put the casket into the hearse. it strikes me. you grow up having this one last kennedy in your life, and it really is the end of an era. now that teddy is gone, it is the end of much of that and what we all grew up with. >> as many times as it has been said, i think a lot of people feel it is almost a sense of -- along with the loss and everything else, there is a disbelief. i have never had any other senator that i can remember. i have never lived in april world -- i have never lived in an w

. >> ted's father joe sr., when he was the family patriarch, he really wanted power and emphasized politicsice. ted, whilee twasshe patriarch, emphasized good works and charitable endeavors just as much as political power. that's reflected in the choices the younger generation has made. >> we shall see. thank you so much. peter canellos. let's go back to new york and chris. >> maggie, thank you so much. >>> if you're looking forward to new clothing for the fall but your budget's a bit tight, how about some fall transition fashions? here to explain, sarah haight. she is a fashion writer at "women's wear daily." good to see you. what are these fall transition fashions? what does that mean for those of us that don't know? >> it's taking your classic summer pieces and adding a few older for c olderake them weather. >> we'red aing a couple of elements here and there. et's start with theun dress. we've got a full screen graphic to show you what that dress looks like at home. we're going to reveal a very lovely young lady who's showing us how we can make this work for fall. >> exactly. this is a s

and joe kennedy sr. sought to steer greatness first to joe jr., then jack, then bobby. destiny had other plans. michael beschloss on the greatest kennedy of them all. reading about washington these days... i gotta ask, what's in it for me? i'm not looking for a bailout, just a good paying job. that's why i like this clean energy idea. now that works for our whole family. for the kids, a better environment. for my wife, who commutes, no more gettin' erked around on gas prices... and for me, well, it wouldn't be so bad if this breadwinner brought home a little more bread. repower america. i hope our senators are listening. >>> the lion of the senate is gone. and with him the last bridges between the parties. ted kennedy and his brothers in history. what did they mean to the country and in the end did his accomplishments exceed theirs? lawrence o'donnell and michael beschloss ahead on "countdown." [ female announcer ] you can't pass inspection with pieces left behind. introducing new charmin ultra strong. its new enhanced diamondweave texture is soft and more durable. more

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the death of his father, joe kennedy sr. made him the patriarch of a sprawling clan. asked him what being head of his family was like. >> it's a wonderful experience. i mean, the circumstances that brought it about obviously remain with me every day. but they're really wonderful. and so many of them are doing such interesting things. i know that my brother jack, brother bobby would be enormously proud of their children. so they're a great source of joy and fun. and now they're all of age or a lot of them are of age where they're taking on sort of the responsibilities for camping trips and things which i used to have to organize years ago. they are good enough to invite me on them. it's -- i feel very lucky because of that whole kind of experience. >> larry: can you take a step back, senator and explain what it is about the family that keeps them going? >> well i think like many other families we had -- we are blessed with two parents. different but complementary in so many ways that made a very special house at least i think most family members would feel that or way

joe kennedy sr. passes away in november of 1969. and then in november of 1973 teddy jr.iving. 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 lib

. >> i think what happened that also made joe kennedy sr. and eunice want to do something for people who suffered with disabilities, and they came through in spades with special olympics. think about china, a place with severe attitudes towards disability, and yet the special olympics that took place there were hugely triumphant. so that's a pretty great accomplishment. >> michael, you have been privy to that family in ways none of us will. can you tell us what it was like in that inner connection between eunice shriver and rosemary. i have been pictures of eunice walking rosemary when she was still around across the lawn there. she took an interest in her like nobody apparently. >> you know, chris, nearly every summer up until rosemary died, rosemary would come to hyannisport for a couple weeks each and every summer, and she would go out sailing with senator kennedy and eunice would, as doris indicated, take care of rosemary not as if she were her older sister, but as if she was her mother. your initial question to doris reminded me of a st

joe kennedy, sr. said you boys have what you want. this is now teddy's turn.if teddy wants this, i'm going to help him out and so are you. is there truth in that story, mike? >> i think there's a lot of truth in that story. joe kennedy assigned a fellow to ride with ted kennedy throughout the course of the 1962 campaign, which was his first venture into elected politics. he worked for both brothers. he worked for jack kennedy. in '56 he ran. he beat him by 900,000 votes. i think the ambassador kennedy told president kennedy and attorney general robert kennedy his youngest boy teddy was going to run for senate. he didn't care what they thought it would do to the status as president. he didn't care. it's what teddy wants and deserves. the guy assigned to be with teddy in the campaign, legend has it, he was reporting back to the ambassador every hour from pay phones what teddy was up to and doing. teddy got so sick of it, in mid-september after the debate with mccomerica parkic, he stopped at an event and let the guy out. wouldn't let him back in. he wanted to be

joe kennedy sr. had contributed to nixon's campaign. so there was that relationship that existed before the falling out in 1960. my wife shelly worked up in the vice president's office before the kennedys were assassinated back in 19 9. and even then she told me when teddy came in the girls in the office, the secretaries, knew teddy was coming down the hall. a lot would go out there because there was this extraordinarily handsome young guy in his late 20s at the time or mid-20s at the time. kennedy -- they always carried that charisma with them. in addition to his personality, the legend and the rest of it that enabled him to get so much done. >> david gregory, you have a question for pat? >> yeah. i want to talk about the flip side of that with nixon and kennedy as well, pat. you may remember as well nixon was obsessed to a certain level about trying to dig up dirt on ted kennedy fearing that he would run against him and talked to others about hiring private eyes to tail him and thought chappaquiddick would be the death knell of his ca