The political impact of Kennedy's seizure: Obama, Clinton and McCain

As most probably know by now, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy was rushed to the hospital earlier today after suffering what was described as a seizure.

Recent tabloid photos of the 76-year-old well-respected, liberal lion showed him to be grossly overweight, so that can't help his condition as doctors diagnose what's wrong.

But The Ticket isn't a medical blog. It's a politics blog. So what's the political effect? First, his illness and a presumed recovery will keep Kennedy sidelined from the campaign trail on Obama's behalf, although other than publicity that hasn't seemed to prove all that helpful anyway.

Despite the slim Democratic majority in the Senate, probably not much effect there. Even if a replacement senator had to be named by the governor, he's a Democrat too. So the party seat balance won't change.

Inside the Senate, Kennedy is well-respected as a hardworking, effective legislator, who can deal with all sides, as he did, for instance, with President Bush on compromise education legislation.

Outside the Senate, the influence of the veteran senator, who overcame the Chappaquiddick scandal, seems to have waned as a vote generator. Despite lingering affection for his famous Democratic family name and....

...much-ballyhooed endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama this winter, Kennedy (and his state's other Democratic senator, John Kerry)  were unable to deliver Massachusetts to their candidate in primary balloting.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton captured the state's popular vote rather handily, another example of what she claims is her big-state success among party voters that would make her more electable than Obama in November.

Despite Kennedy's oft-cited influence among Latino voters and his well-publicized campaigning among them in California, Obama also lost the popular vote there, again to Clinton.

But because of the arcane Democratic delegate allocation process, Obama still picked up 166 of the state's 370 delegates with Clinton capturing 204. Under the Republicans' winner-take-all delegate selection process, as Clinton has so frequently and uselessly pointed out, she would have wrapped up her party's nomination with that lopsided win over Obama in West Virginia the other day.

(Also, under the Republican Party's traditional system of primogeniture, she would probably have inherited the presidential nomination as next most senior in line, much as her team apparently thought she would among Democrats before the upstart Illinois freshman launched his unexpected grassfire rebellion in the winter of 2007.)

"The Democrats have developed a delegate allocation system that is so fair, it's unfair," says Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

In politics, though, what's often most important is what is not said.

We tip our hat to colleague Dan Morain for underlining something very revealing in the statements of sympathy issued today by all three major presidential candidates:

Obama, who had Kennedy's endorsement; even Republican Sen. John McCain, who's now the presumptive nominee and leader of the opposite party but has worked across the aisle with Kennedy for years in the Senate and doesn't mind underlining that; and then Clinton, who has worked with Kennedy too, but lost the anticipated Kennedy endorsement in what must have been a bitter disappointment to herself and her husband.

See if you notice anything in the three senators' statements, printed here in their entirety. And let us know in the Comments section below what you detect.

Sen. Obama:

"I know a lot of you are interested in the situation with Sen. Kennedy. I have been in contact with the family. Obviously they are in our thoughts and prayers. They, I am sure, will be releasing some sort of statement when they have a better assessment of what the situation is.

"You know, as I have said many times before, Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He has done more for the healthcare of others than just about anybody in history and so we are going to be rooting for him and I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."

Sen. McCain:

"I was very sorry to hear that Sen. Kennedy has taken ill, and like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition.

"Sen. Kennedy's role in the U.S. Senate cannot be overstated. He is a legendary lawmaker, and I have the highest respect for him. When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend.

"Cindy and I are praying for our friend, his wife, Vicki, and the Kennedy family."

Sen. Clinton:

“My thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Ted Kennedy and his family today.  We all wish him well and a quick recovery.”

-- Andrew Malcolm

Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images/AP

Comments

[Joe Bob Halley]

Nothing from Bill Clinton.

[Average Female Voter]

Ted Kennedy lost my respect when he chose the inexperienced unseasoned Obama over the first viable credentialed female presidential candidate in US history. Women will never forget how the Democratic Party pulled the plug on their dream!

[David Gregorio]

we are so sad, about this bad notice, bu I think he will be strong and his recovery, God bless him , we will put him in our prayers. Ted Kennedy is in our minds, the most respected personality in North America as a Senator and hard working man for our society and our values and principles. God Bless Sen. Ted Kennedy.......!

[N.E. BodybutHillary]

I wish Senator Kennedy a fast recovery.

[Clyde]

You refer to Kennedy as "well respected". How can anyone be "well respected" when he, while married, after a party (and probably drunk) ran off a bridge and killed his woman companion (not his wife), then saved himself before attempting to find her body? Is this a man to be respected? He should have gone to jail as almost all citizens who committed this crime went to jail. He did leave the place of the accident and it was not reported for some time.

[Linda Kindron]

DID YOU LISTEN TO THE SAME COMMENTS i DID ON THE NEWS. fIRST sEN. oBAMA SAID "SHE" HAS BEEN A BIG PART ETC.
AND HILLARY CLINTON DID NOT JUST SAY THE ONE LINE YOU PRINTED. SHE SAID THAT SEN.KENNEDY HAS WORKED ALSO FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE PROPER HEALTH CARE AND THAT YES SHE HAD HIM IN HER THOUGHTS AND FOR PEOPLE TO KEEP HIM IN THEIR'S. HOW DID YOU NOT CATCH SEN. OBAMA SAYING "SHE" MORE THAN ONCE???
AS FOR SEN. MCCAIN i COULD CARE LESS WHAT HE HAS TO SAY.

[Mr. Unite Us]

Ted Kennedy,

My prayers go out to you and yours

Get well soon.

Cbarles B.

[Chris]

Hillary kept her comments short but that's understandable considering Kennedy took some really low shots at her a couple of days ago.

[Barack Obama]

Exactly what happens to Senator Kennedy's Super Delegate vote if he were to pass on? Just wondering.

[Diana]

I noticed that Barack Obama was the only one who contacted the Kennedy family.

I never had any respect for him or for the Kennedy Clan beginning with the patriarch Joseph Kennedy. He was a crook. JFK stole the presidential election from Nixon, and Nixon for the good of the country stepped aside, and did not contest the election results. The Kennedy Clan has always claimed to be Roman Catholic but have never practiced it due to their adulterous behavior, supporting abortion, divorcing from their spouses without getting annulments, and taking holy communion when they're not supposed to. Senator Kennedy and his extended family do not share my values and principles. Their influence with the Latino comunity was in the 1960's and 1970's. Since 1992 to the present, The Clintons are the ones who now have that influence with most of the Latino community. But, I still wish him well. May God be with him and his family.

Clyde / 08:15 p.m. I agree with everthing you wrote.

[ecaitlin]

Hillary praised Ted Kennedy warmly for his work on behalf of health care issues.

How come you left that out?

[Jim Jones]

I don't know how somebody can be so callous to be thinking about Ted's endorsement of anybody at a time like this. It's not the end of the world for female canidates!!!! Kathleen Sebeleius of Kansas? Arizona's Janet Napolitano?? Hello, don't be blinded by gender. Hillary has lost. She waged a good campaign, but it's over.

[crat3]

Great to see Kennedy sidelined; hope he stays sidelined.

[kevin]

When Kennedy backed the young Obama over the more (Washington) experienced Clinton........he gained my deep respect.
Once again, he anticipated the real mood of America.
Rather than doing what was expedient; and endorsing the safe, the same old, same old, he endorsed change, and he did what was right: right for his country, and right for the world.
In my view, Kennedy is a giant.

[concerned]

This shocked me please everyone look it up...i wouldnt have believed it hadn't i read it for myself...remeber Obama seemingly innocent misshap about 57 states here is what he was talking about shocking really...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_the_Islamic_Conference (57 islamic states) Please it's not something anyone made up it's fact

[John]

Ted Kennedy, hmm so many things to say.
but i'll just say this.
July 18, 1969 he killed a person. Drunk or not.
I don't give a damn, but I do hope justice is finnaly served
for this drunkard.

He was never great like Joseph Jr., JFK, or Bobby.
Just the drunk black sheep of the family.

good die young the wicked get just deserts

[dave]

obama seemed rather quick to banish kennedy to the oblivion of history; where he said kennedy had done more than most for others' healthcare (more than for his own?). he insists on being optimistic about the outcome, too...the outcome of whatever; but is his command of fate sufficient to bring the real change - not only more change to believe in, however grand or small?
change that values liberty more than hope, and integrity more than empty phrases? RON PAUL stands for constitutional and tangible change. to stop forever
hoping for - start being change.

[Richard]

I hope the murdering, lying liberal buffoon from MA. drops dead. Few things are as uplifting as hearing of the demise of America's enemies.

[Sharan]

First, Senator Kennedy did NOT "overcome Chappaquidick." It was the reason he lost the respect of millions of Americans and the Presidential nomination in '80. I sympathize with his family, however. As to the comments of the 3 major presidential candidates -- that's fits right in with her true personality - not what the kind of person she SAYS she is, but the kind of person her ACTIONS say she is.

[Jkan]

Ted Kennedy lost my respect when he chose the inexperienced unseasoned Obama over the first viable credentialed female presidential candidate in US history. Women will never forget how the Democratic Party pulled the plug on their dream!

American public will NEVER forget how Ted ganged up with the Press, Pelosi, Dean, etc and prematurely went public endorsing a VAGUE candidate!!

Ted Kennedy is a JOKE.

[lOLA]

In typical form, Obama took the sad event to knowck Hillary by giving Ted Kennedy the credit for fighiting for health care more than anybody. Weird to use the word, "insist" that Ted Kennedy be "optimistic" about a good outcome! Seems cynical and mocking to me.

John McCain made apoint to praise their working together so subtly makes himself look bypartisan.

But, these comments don't fully reflect what commentators are doign with this, they use alot of past tense as if implying that TEd Kennedy is or will be dead!! Very striking how there is this sense of Kennedy "was". Obama comes accross as cynical, when you analyse of the peculiar words he uses.

[MDuecker]

Sen. Kenndy has done more to hurt this Country than anyone I can possibly think of since his father. To think that somebody with simply a "name" can be voted in so many years and have so much influence upon our Country, without wisdom, is beyond me. I wish nothing other than this poor soul to never again grace us with his, "pompous" presence, in any social capacity.

[CD]

I am a democrat but I notice that McCain is the only one that includes his wife (Cindy) in his message which i believe is the proper way of doing so. for a married couple.

[Charles]

Well, McCain didn't wish him a recovery.
Does that mean that he doesn't want him to recover?

[Nick]

"I noticed that Barack Obama was the only one who contacted the Kennedy family."

Fallacious. Barack Obama was the only one who publicized his contact with the family. The status of Clinton and McCain's communication with the family is actually unknown from this data.