Cord Byrd: “President John F. Kennedy was fond of quoting the Biblical passage of the New Testament: For unto whomsoever much is…”

“President John F. Kennedy was fond of quoting the Biblical passage of the New Testament: For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required. That was quoted from the 12th chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, verse 48, the King James version. When I think of that passage, I think of the life, the career, and the accomplishments thus far of my dear friend, my dear friend and colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy, who will turn 75 years old--Oh, to be 75 again--he will turn 75 years old, on February 22. The Senate will be out of session on February 22. When Ted Kennedy came to the Senate in 1962, I would already have been here 4 years. So when he, Ted Kennedy, came to the Senate in 1962, much had already been given to Senator Ted Kennedy. He had been born into a wealthy and remarkably, remarkably talented family. His father, a financial genius, had been an Ambassador to England--think of that, Ambassador to England--and the very first Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of his brothers, one of Ted Kennedy's brothers, had been a Senator--I can see him now, as it were--and was then President of the United States, but had been a Senator. Another brother was the Attorney General of the United States, and would eventually join Ted in the Senate in 1965. As for Senator Edward ``Ted'' Kennedy, himself, he had attended two of our country's premier educational institutions, Harvard College, and, yes, the University of Virginia.…”