Differences of opinion are welcome, but the fact remains that Ted had many sterling qualities in addition to certain failings. The subject is an adaptation of a quote from Shakespeare/Romeo Juliet to pay proper homage to the departed leader of the Democratic Party. He became history leaving the Kennedy-aura as a big challenge for his successors and a national asset. Ted Kennedy has joined his brothers in Arlington Cemetery. He remained the soul of US Senate for his tenure spanning 47 years. President Barack H Obama felt "heart broken" on his demise while acknowledging that he had "benefited as president" from the advice rendered by the deceased. He further identified Ted as the "greatest legislator of our time" who emerged as a "veritable force of nature," despite starting as the "baby of the family who became its patriarch, the restless dreamer who became its rock." Reflecting Kennedy family's past mishaps, Obama added: "He was given a gift of time that his brothers were not. And he used that time to touch as many lives and right as many wrongs as the years would allow." Praise was due "as his ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives - in seniors who know new dignity, in families who know new opportunity, in children who know education's promise who can pursue their dream in an America that is more equal and more just, including myself." The US media is brimming with tributes and stories about the deceased. It is not because he was the scion of the rich 'family' who are also very influential at home and, generally, abroad. This is, primarily, because of his focus on those whom the society tended to treat as the "children of a lesser god." When Jack Kennedy got assassinated, the wave of grief/empathy in the US linked the Kennedy-clan with 'Camelot'. Bob Herbert, a veteran New York Times columnist, insists that he found "Finian's Rainbow" to be a more appropriate touchstone for the family, especially the song Look to the Rainbow, with the moving lyric, "Follow the fellow who follows a dream." He reminds his readers of Ted's message on Robert Kennedy's funeral whose bottom-line is: "The Kennedy's counselled us for half a century to be optimistic and to strive harder, to find the resilience to overcome those inevitable moments of tragedy and desolation, and to move steadily toward our better selves, as individuals and as a nation." For Bob Ted was the best. His Address to Party Convention in 1980 suggests the same: "Let this be our commitment: whatever sacrifices must be made will be shared and shared fairly. And let this be our confidence: At the end of our journey and always before us shines that ideal of liberty and justice for all." US being a free country despite having suffered onerous blows a la neo-cons to its legal framework/freedom/rights as laid down in the constitution, perpetual debate goes on about issues, generally, which tend to define the political agendas of the Republicans and the Democrats. This is made sinister by the extremist Right Wing which was recently called, the "American Taliban" by a media report in Pakistan. Unfortunately such elements, like others in a rich society, tend to receive support from vested interests/powerful lobbies which hound the US. Moreover there appears to be a tendency whereby the 'old' immigrants, generally, want to deny the same privilege to the new aspirants. The Republican Party supports the traditional prohibitive policy, generally, whereas the Democratic Party, being liberal and hankering after equality of opportunity etc, supports a lawful immigration process. For example, during George W's two-tenures, immigration reforms tabled by the democrats were, invariably, cold-shouldered by the Republicans just like the Palestinian problem. No wonder, even on this sad occasion, while mainstream America eulogised their departed statesman, many negative comments against Ted's politics/person flooded the media. Hence Cathy Young writes: "The praise bestowed on Kennedy today by political allies and rival alike is testament to his superb political skills, including his capacity for bipartisan legislative work. Yet the grief that accompanies the passing of a public figure of such stature should not obscure the fact that his career also illustrates the darker side of the liberal legacy." Conceding that Ted espoused a large number of liberal causes bearing "an aura of nobility" and including "the defence of the poor, the disabled and the sick, the rights of women and minorities", yet many of the measures he supported are "prime examples of the discrepancy between idealistic causes and unintended effects." She builds an argument that reforms like the increase in minimum wage, affirmative action upheld at federal level, violence against women act and hate crimes legislation etc produce double-edged weapons which hurt huge sections of citizenry belonging to various communities within the US. To her Ted's liberalism was sparked by the paternalism of the federal government which appeared to be driven by the disposition, "Uncle Sam knows best" reinforced by the psychology "noblesse oblige" which implies that the Aristocracy, almost represented by Kennedy in US, is obliged to "protect and look out for the little people." Likewise, William Anderson berates Ted's famous advocacy: "But quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face. Every American should be able to get the same treatment that US senators are entitled to....This is the cause of my life." President Obama may have referred to the above unpalatable situation when he remarked during the funeral speech: "He was a product of an age when the joy and nobility of politics prevented differences of party and philosophy from becoming barriers to cooperation and mutual respect - a time when adversaries still saw each other as patriots." Differences of opinion are welcome, but the fact remains that Ted had many sterling qualities in addition to certain failings. During the Mass, his family-children elaborated his political/human desires: "That human beings be measured not by what they cannot do but by what they can do. That quality healthcare becomes a fundamental right and not a privilege. That the old politics of race and gender die away. That newcomers be accepted, no matter their colour or place of birth. That the nation stand united against violence, hate and war. And, in echo of his famous words, that the work begins anew, the hope arises anew, and the dream lives on." Norman J Ornstein, a political scientist elaborated: "He was a quintessential Kennedy, in the sense that he had all the warts as well as all the charisma and a lot of strengths,...He was not a shining star that burned brightly and faded away. When you survey the impact of the Kennedy's on American life and politics and policy, he will end up by far being the most significant." President Obama's cogent is, "...the good he did, the dream he kept alive, and a single, enduring image - the image of a man on a boat; white mane tousled; smiling broadly as he sails into the wind, ready for what storms may come, carrying on toward some new and wondrous place just beyond the horizon. May God Bless Ted Kennedy, and may he rest in eternal peace." The writer is a former secretary interior