President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and a host of other dignitaries traveled to Boston Monday to pay tribute to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and help open an institute devoted to the Senate.
The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a $78 million museum which boasts a life-size replica of the Senate chamber, officially opens to the public Tuesday.
Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, introduced Obama, noting that Kennedy recruited Obama as a senator to the committee he chaired.
“The Senate was a place where you instinctively pulled yourself up a little bit straighter,” Obama said. “It fills you with a heightened sense of purpose. That’s the magic of the Senate. That’s the essence of what it can be.
“We live in a time of such great cynicism about our institutions, and we are cynical about government and Washington most of all… And this place can help change that,” he said.
And while Obama said it was not the time “to suggest a slew of new ideas for reform,” he said he would suggest “just one.”
“What if we carried ourselves more like Ted Kennedy? What if we worked to follow his example a little bit harder?” he asked.
The museum comes at a time when Congress is having trouble passing bills and public opinion of lawmakers sinks. It is designed to teach students how the Senate works and, perhaps, get them interested in serving in government.
But Kennedy, the so-called lion of the Senate who died in 2009, was known for his ability to compromise with members of the opposition party, a skill that has been lacking in recent years. He served for nearly half-a-century, at one point becoming the fourth longest-serving senator in history.
The crowd at the dedication numbers 1,800, according to Tim Stancell-Condron, director of business development and events at the institute.
Others who attended include: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and Kennedy’s son, former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I. Secretary of State John Kerry, who served in the Senate, had been expected to attend but canceled as nuclear talks continued with Iran in Switzerland.
“I miss my friend. I miss him a lot,” McCain said. “I knew I would when I said six years ago the Senate wouldn’t be the same without him. And it hasn’t been. That’s mostly for reasons unrelated to losing Ted, but I have no doubt the place would be a little more productive and a lot more fun if he were there.”
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