Ted Kennedy's Finest Speech?

Wednesday, 26th August 2009

Well, his address to the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City is probably Kennedy's most famous speech. It may not have been his finest hour but it was certainly Bob Shrum's. Indeed, so successful was it that Shrum has subsequently tried to capture its echoes in speeches written for other, invariably lesser, politicians. You need stature to be able to carry this sort of thing off. Which is one reason why other Shrum clients such as John Kerry and Gordon Brown have struggled with the speeches Shrum has written for them.

Nor, it should not need saying, does one need to agree with the argument to appreciate that it's a great speech. The peroration is, I guess, the most famous part. And fairly so:

And someday, long after this convention, long after the signs come down and the crowds stop cheering, and the bands stop playing, may it be said of our campaign that we kept the faith.
May it be said of our Party in 1980 that we found our faith again.
And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and that have special meaning for me now:
"I am a part of all that I have met 
To [Tho] much is taken, much abides 
That which we are, we are -- 
One equal temper of heroic hearts 
Strong in will 
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end.
For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.

Full text and - better still - audio here.

Filed under: Democrats (113 more articles) , Kennedy (5 more articles)

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Fergus Pickering

August 26th, 2009 6:42pm Report this comment

Misquote a bit of Tennyson, surround it with a bit of Kinnocky blah and the result is ... total crap, my brothers. What's he talking about? He's talking about the Democrattic Party whose leader Kennedy has failed to unseat. Why? Because the stink in people's nostrils of Chappawhatsit is still too strong. And what is about to happen to this lerader? He is about to go down in flames before the attack of Ronald Reagan. Now THERE was an orator. 'There you go again!' Kennedy, thank God, wasa loser, a lying, cowardly, serially adulterous loser. Oh, and disgustingly fat as well. THAT ought to strike home in today' world. His brothers knew he was a loser and they said so. The two best things vthat ever hapenedto him were the assassinations of John and Bobby. Without that - nada!