Tough Time for Teddy

Blessed by his bloodlines, Edward Moore Kennedy should have been able to count on the adjective "incumbent" as a perpetual political heirloom. Even in this season of electoral discontent with the vagaries and pomposities of politics, his Kennedy and Fitzgerald legacy retains magic. In spite of scandal, the Senator still polls a "favorable" rating of 57%. But Kennedy is discovering that admiration no longer translates into support.

It seems a particularly vicious irony that Kennedy's political opponent is the mirror image of the veteran Senator's former self. Republican Mitt Romney is young, trim and drop-dead handsome. His life mocks Kennedy's controversial...

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