Faculty members at the Kennedy School ofGovernment praised O'Neill's commitment to bothnational and local politics.

"He had a passion for and about government,"said David C. King, assistant professor of publicpolicy at the Kennedy School of Government. "Hewas for Congress. He would never bash Congress."

Another faculty member commented on O'Neill'spolitical views.

"The thing about Tip was that he was fiercelypartisan--very, very much an ideologicalliberal--but he got along well with people alongboth sides of the aisle," said Mickey Edwards, alecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School ofGovernment.

In fact, said Edwards, a former Republicanmember of Congress, O'Neill was liked andrespected by many of his political foes. "I thinkRonald Reagan liked him a lot," Edwards said.

Edwards also spoke about how O'Neill actuallymade his politics local.

"For a lot of politicians today, local politicsmeans taking a poll of the people in yourconstituency," Edwards said. "To him it meantyou're there with the people. You're one of them.You're their voice up there."

Alfred E. Vellucci, a former mayor ofCambridge, told the Associated Press that O'Neillgenerated great loyalty among his constituents byhis dedication to the problems of the poor.

"I was the same kind of politician he was andhe was the same kind of politician I was,"Vellucci said. "We had love in our hearts and wepoured it out and gave it away to the lowest ofthe low, to the poorest of the poor."

Russell said that O'Neill's life will long beremembered in Cambridge.

"We are all going to mourn him, but we can alsocelebrate his life," said Russell. "I think he wasone of the finest people I have ever met.