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Why does Kennedy want to run for President now, when he could have waited until 1984, as some supporters urged him to do? Kennedy circled the question carefully in an interview with TIME Washington Bureau Chief Robert Ajemian. The Senator was wary of sounding too self-serving, but he soon raised a point that he rarely discusses. "Because I'm ready now," he said, looking straight ahead. "I've made my own record. I'm a man of the Senate, and I can be judged on that." He explained that it was important to him personally that he put some distance between himself and his brothers. "I'm proud of them, obviously," he said, "but I don't want nostalgia to be a part of this thing. Now the criticism will be aimed at me." He seemed pleased at that, sure of his own thought. Said he: "I'm the person who will be judged, not them."
That process of judgment has already begun, and among the things it will strip away are uncertainties about exactly what Kennedy's policies are. In this area, his opponents see great opportunities. Says Democratic National Chairman John
White: "I just know that there is a built-in factor of people not knowing what Kennedy stands for." Asks a White House aide: "What happens when people realize that Kennedy's voting record is more liberal than George McGovern's?"
The fact is, Kennedy's and Carter's views are close on many issues, and there is considerable truth to the Republican wisecrack that "if you liked Jimmy, you'll love Teddy." Kennedy ranks fourth among Senators in support of Administration positions on roll-call votes; so far this year, he has backed Carter 85 times and opposed him only twelve. The similarities in their positions led California's Jerry Brown to ask, "Why is Kennedy running? What is his debate with Carter? The only issue is career advancement."
Still, by two widely followed barometers, Kennedy is the Senate's liberal standard bearer. Last year, as usual, the Americans for Democratic Action gave him a nearly 100% approval rating for his voting record on major legislation, while the Americans for Constitutional Action graded him at close to zero.
Yet Kennedy for several years has avoided the liberal label. It is a designation that has fallen on hard times since the demise of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Congressional liberals once took pride in supporting vigorous Government action to solve the nation's economic and social problems. But although most Americans still favor a high level of Government services, the increasing cost, waste and bureaucracy surrounding these services inspire many citizens to oppose Government operations that do not directly benefit them. Moreover, many of today's disputes have gone beyond the classic liberal-conservative debate. In a conflict between environmental damage and a loss of jobs, for example, there is no clear liberal position.
Lately the word liberal has become something of a political epithet, meaning that the target is an impractical spendthrift. Kennedy's staff has taken to calling him a "pragmatist," which is supposed to convey the impression that he is a hard-headed problem solver not bound by any ideology. That definition, too, can be read in more than one way. Says an old Kennedy friend, conservative Republican Congressman Barber Conable of New York: "Ted is the son of Joe Kennedy and the brother of Jack and Bobby. Like them, he accommodates himself to the prevailing views."