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Is Vicki Kennedy ready to succeed?
Sen. Ted Kennedy, wintering in an undisclosed location in Florida, may never return to the Senate, friends say, as his battle with brain cancer enters its final rounds. "He's someplace sunny, near the water, where he can rest and sail," said a pal of the senior senator. "Time is of the essence. It's very sad."Kennedy was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed during a luncheon that followed President Obama's inauguration, and returned to vote on the stimulus bill. Although family members have said publicly that the senator is doing "good," privately those close to Kennedy say he may only have a few months to live. "He's very sick," said another Kennedy associate. "He's actually done well to get to this point." Kennedy was diagnosed last May with a malignant brain tumor and his prognosis was poor. According to pals, the senator spent every day that he could last summer on the waters off Hyannisport sailing his beloved yacht, Mya . He has returned to Washington only sporadically since being diagnosed - most dramatically a month after his first seizure to cast the deciding vote on an important Medicare bill. Because of Kennedy's condition, off-the-record speculation about the future of his Senate seat has been rampant this week - especially in light of a seven-part Boring Broadsheet opus that is being widely viewed as a premature obituary. And yesterday's installment was interpreted by some close to the matter as the first step in a torch-passing to Kennedy's wife, Vicki. "It appeared to be setting up Vicki's senate campaign," said one insider. The story described the former Victoria Reggie as "a great lawyer" with "tremendous political skills" and "great sense of humor." It portrayed her family as Kennedy doppelgangers and Vicki's father, Edmund Reggie, as one of Ted's closest companions. "The Reggies and their six children had more than a little Kennedy in them," the BB wrote. "Edmund was an unabashed liberal from the heart of Dixie . . . 'Last one in the pool is a Republican!' the judge was known to bellow at his kids." Posted by: Fred 2009-02-21 |
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