The Senator

The author of this book, Richard E Burke, first saw and met Senator Edward Moore Kennedy on a Sunday morning in October 1971.

Instantly he was absorbed by the senator's charisma, charm and total ability to make who ever he was speaking to or shaking hands with feel like they were the only person in the world that mattered. Being star struck Burke went to the senator's offices and volunteered to work there. From mailroom assistant, to general gofer, chauffeur and eventually the senator's right hand man literally putting him to bed at night and getting him up the next morning was a whirlwind progression totally unimaginable when he first shook hands the man himself.

"The Senator", as the author refers to him throughout this book, as we all know never achieved the highest office in the land. We will never know if while in office he would have been able to resurrect the spirit of Camelot that his elder brothers John and Robert had started. What does stand as his legacy is a 47 year career in the Senate with achievements that will be hard if not impossible to equal. He partook in 15,235 votes, authored 2,500 bills and co-sponsored 552 pieces of legislation.

His focus was on health care reform, civil rights, equal rights and a raft of legislation that was raised in the interests of the general public. Not in the interests of business or the establishment which is part of the reason he was nicknamed the "liberal lion".

As the author became an increasingly reliable and trustworthy member of the senator's team he learnt about how politics works. He was able to learn at first hand how The Senator was enough of an old hand at the game to see that he would try for perfection but in order to achieve anything always settle for what he knew would be the best he could achieve. I guess that is a form of political realism and a readiness to accept the compromise.

The closer Burke worked with The Senator the more he learned about the darker side of the world he had entered. The broken marriage of the Kennedys. How his wife was an alcoholic and how they led very separate lives but appeared together for the sake of political expediency. Then there was the senator's womanising which the author couldn't believe when he found out about it. How, instead of helping to carry the torch of hope for a better future he was absorbed in arranging trysts and breakups for his boss. Alcohol came into the equation very early and The Senator was a bit of a belter at the slightest opportunity. Then of course there were the drugs. Cocaine featured a lot as way of keeping going and as a way to unwind.

Honestly, the lifestyle described made the exploits of the Rolling Stones exploits in their most hedonistic days look like Christian missions.

And what happened? The obvious of course.

The author explains how he got involved with his work and also about how he became a part of the sex, drugs and alcohol scene that went with The Senator. Yes, from the outside he had a meteoric rise along with accumulated power and fame but as he admits himself, this came at a very high price; almost losing his parents and siblings.

In 1981, a couple of months after The Senator missed out on the Democratic nomination, Richard E Burke went through a mental breakdown and quit his job with The Senator.

In the epilogue he describes how, after treatment, he decided to write a book about his life with The Senator. As soon as his camp heard about this they put pressure on him. Threatening legal action or making him financial offers with gagging orders attached that far exceeded his projected earnings from book sales. Burke stood firm and wrote and published this book.

He wanted to so he could let people know the risks of getting involved in the sort of world he did and what damage such involvement can inflict on everyone around.

If Ted Kennedy had won the Democratic nomination for the 1980 Presidential Election and won the unanswerable question is:

"Would he have made a good President?"

My own view on this is "No".

Having read this book I believe that even if he had won and the Democrats had majorities in both houses he would have had serious problems. Those problems would have been revelations about his hedonistic lifestyle including the womanising, alcohol and of course the use of drugs. Bill Clinton had a rough enough time of it in is Presidency trying to convince the world that he had not inhaled. How would an incumbent office holder in a stricter moral if not totally hypocritical time have been able to cope with the constant distraction of justified accusations of drug taking? Even if it didn't cost them an election it could have really holed their hopes of social reformation below the waterline.

My own view, again, that non-liberals will dispute is that The Senator most likely did more good for his country as a hardworking and extremely hard playing Senator than he could ever have done as a President.

As for the author, he left the political scene, went into business and has quietely disappeared from public view.