JIMMY CARTER has failed as president, in the eyes of Congress, America and the world--nothing he can do in the next year can reverse or compensate for the work of the last three. Only Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 (D-Mass.) can provide the forceful and compassionate leadership that the nation has lacked under Carter; only Kennedy can reassemble the Democratic coalition and, as Carter ironically promised in his 1976 campaign, "get America going again."

For most of his 17 years in the Senate, Kennedy has led the Democratic Party and what is left of American liberalism. In pursuing landmark progressive legislation such as the 18-year-old vote, national health insurance, gun control and merger regulation, among a galaxy of others, he has demonstrated the intellectual, political and oratorical skills that will make him an effective president, as well as a dedication unsurpassed in the Senate.

It is naive and unrealistic to suppose that a better candidate than Kennedy will materialize from nowhere; certainly he towers over those who have already announced. We wholeheartedly support Kennedy for the presidency.