By Bob Morgan, Jr.

For those of us of a certain age, the death of Senator Edward Kennedy last week represents the passing from the scene of a truly memorable, if flawed, political figure.

We first became aware of Ted Kennedy in the 1960 presidential campaign as the youngest brother in a family that was already starting to become a dynasty. When Ted's brother John was elected and his brother, Robert ("Bobby"), was named as attorney general, it somehow did not seem strange that young Ted was groomed for a senate seat in Massachusetts that would become available once he reached the legal minimum age of 30 in 1962. While the Age of Camelot myth has been a bit overhyped, the Kennedy Administration, with a youthful chief executive, his stylish and beautiful wife and young children, had a glamour and vitality that were missing in previous presidencies. In the words of John Kennedy at his inaugural, the torch had been "passed to a new generation" after the staid Eisenhower years, and Ted was a part of the new leadership. Not even a plane crash, which Ted survived in 1964, was enough to stop him.

Of course, tragedy twice struck the Kennedy family in the 1960's as both President Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy, who became senator from New York and a presidential candidate in 1968, were assassinated. Ted Kennedy, who delivered a stirring eulogy for his brother, was perceived as the new Kennedy family standardbearer, and in 1969 was already touted as the likely Democratic challenger in 1972 to President Richard M. Nixon.

But then Ted Kennedy threw away his chance to be president. After a party on Chappaquidick Island in Massachusetts, July 1969, Mr. Kennedy was in a car with a young aide, Mary Jo Kopeckne, which overturned into the waters, resulting in Ms. Kopeckne's death. Mr. Kennedy did not notify authorities for many hours after the accident. Although only minor criminal charges were filed against the Senator, the incident quite justifiably haunted his career. He did not run in 1972 and his later run in 1980, when he attempted to wrest the Democratic nomination from the incumbent Democratic president, Jimmy Carter, was significantly damaged by persistent questions about Chappaquidick.

To his credit, however, Ted Kennedy became one of the most significant senators of recent years. He generally was a stalwart liberal and was one of the leading proponents of national health care, but his influence was felt in many other areas, including minimum wage, immigration and foreign affairs. More than anyone, he was responsible for the scuttling of the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork, whom Mr. Kennedy unfairly tied to reactionary positions. Mr. Kennedy on occasion showed ideological flexibility, for example supporting airline and trucking deregulation and had the ability to work well with opponents. He helped President George W. Bush push through the No Child Left Behind bill and frequently worked with an unlikely Republican partner, the conservative Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Ted Kennedy was never one of my ideological heroes and his personal life was at best a mixed bag, and not just because of Chappaquiddick. Still, as an article by Rob Long in National Review discussed last year, the senator was capable of many moments of personal decency. (Mr. Long was touched by a personal note from the senator on the death of Mr. Long's father and noted Mr. Kennedy's friendship with conservative columnist Cal Thomas.) Ted Kennedy was anything but perfect, but it is fair to say that a political giant passed away last week.