Political rivals unite at Kennedy memorial

UNITED STATED.

Top Democrats and Republicans united on Friday to pay tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy, the powerful liberal from America's pre-eminent political dynasty whose death has been treated like the passing of royalty.

Dignitaries from both sides of the political aisle and overseas attended an invitation-only memorial service at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum after a public viewing that drew more than 30,000 mourners -- so many that security had to turn people away.

Kennedy's flag-draped coffin was displayed before picture windows showing sweeping views of Boston Harbor and the Boston skyline, and the memorial was punctuated by teary remembrances, guffaw-inducing anecdotes and song.

It was also lightly tinged with politics and references to healthcare reform, Kennedy's top priority and a polarizing issue in U.S. politics.

Kennedy, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts for 47 years, died late Tuesday of brain cancer at age 77 after a remarkable career championing causes from civil rights, immigration and healthcare to the end of apartheid in South Africa, opposition to the war in Iraq and peace in Ireland.

His place in the Kennedy dynasty -- brother John was the last president slain in office and another brother Robert was gunned down while campaigning for the White House -- enhanced his stature as one of Washington's most powerful politicians.

"He crept into my heart and before I knew it he owned a piece of it," said Vice President Joe Biden, a longtime senate colleague who said he never would have reached high office without Kennedy.

The televised memorial more than an hour past its scheduled two hours in part due to lengthy tributes like one from Senator Orrin Hatch, a conservative Republican whose friendship and frequent political partnership with Kennedy earned them the nickname "The Odd Couple."

"I miss fighting with him in public and joking (with him) in the background," said Hatch, occasionally dabbing his eyes and nose out of emotion.

Hatch, a teetotalling Mormon, recalled how one time he asked several favors of Kennedy on a night when Kennedy was "feeling no pain" -- a reference to his renowned taste for alcohol. Kennedy granted the favors, only to ask the next day, "'Orrin, what else did I agree to last night?,'" Hatch said.

Kennedy's wife Vicki rose and hugged Hatch after he spoke.

Other tributes came from colleagues including Senator John McCain, the Republican who lost the 2008 presidential election to Barack Obama, and Democratic senators John Kerry and Chris Dodd.

"Nearly every important law passed in the last half century bears his mark," Dodd said.

Many spoke of Kennedy's love of sailing, and others spoke of generosity, particularly during moments of grief.

Joseph P. Kennedy II, one of 11 children of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, said his uncle helped immeasurably after his father was killed during the 1968 presidential campaign.

"Every single one of my brothers and sisters needed a father, and we gained one through Uncle Teddy," Kennedy said. "We just needed someone to hang onto, and Teddy was always there."

RESPECTED BY RIVALS

Despite his unabashedly liberal views, Kennedy won the respect of many conservative lawmakers through charm and political skill, though he was often a target of derision outside the capital or his home state of Massachusetts.

Conservatives disliked his politics and many Americans could never forgive him for the 1969 accident at Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts, in which Kennedy drove off a bridge and into the water, escaping while a female passenger drowned. He failed to notify police for nine hours.

Obama was to give a eulogy on Saturday during a funeral Mass at a Roman Catholic basilica in Boston, and aides promised Obama would not use the occasion to rally support for healthcare reform, Obama's top domestic priority and an issue Kennedy called "the cause of my life."

With Kennedy's death Obama lost a crucial ally in his struggle to overhaul the $2.5 trillion U.S. health care system in which nearly 46 million people go uninsured. Kennedy, a consummate deal-maker, could have helped Obama through what has become a contentious debate across the country.

Afterward his body will be flown to Washington for a motorcade through the capital and the burial at nearby Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest near the graves of his slain brothers, former President John Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy.

(Additional reporting by Scott Malone and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston, Tabassum Zakaria, Vicki Allen and Donna Smith in Washington, Ed Stoddard in Dallas and Ellen Wulfhorst in New York. Writing by Daniel Trotta; editing by Jackie Frank and Phil Stewart)
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