I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Ted Kennedy’s legacy on Daybreak this morning. 

He had few but significant Indiana ties starting with his relationship with the Bayh family.   Former Senator Birch Bayh was a close friend who rescued Kennedy from a small plane crash in 1964.  When Evan Bayh was sworn in as Senator in 1999 one of the highlights of the day was Ted Kennedy’s appearance at a Capitol Hill reception in honor of the new Senator.

Kennedy will be known as a master legislator and one of his major accomplishments was the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, co-authored by Indiana Senator Dan Quayle.  When Quayle ran for Vice President and his gravitas was questioned, Republicans often made reference to JTPA and his work with Kennedy as evidence of a meaningful record.

Indiana State Democratic Chairman Dan Parker grew up in Boston and served a college internship in Kennedy’s Capitol Hill office.  You might say that Kennedy’s legacy will live on here through Parker.

Finally, on a personal note, I worked in Iowa in 1979 and 1980 and covered Kennedy’s run for President.  His Iowa campaign was marked by large crowds (larger than those attracted by Jimmy Carter even though Carter won Iowa and the nomination) and by constant protests.  I believe that’s how Ted Kennedy will be remembered:  powerful, yet polarizing.