“Now I have something in common with George Washington, other than being born on February 22,” Kennedy said. “It is not being president as I had once hoped.”
According to political journalist Adam Clymer ’58, who wrote a biography of Kennedy, the senator has been “the most effective legislator of his time.”
“President Faust explained it pretty well at Commencement: he’s been a leader on all kinds of issues, specifically on higher education, which is particularly important to Harvard,” said Clymer,who is a former Crimson president.
According to Ellwood, though Kennedy entered office as part of a political dynasty, his ultimate reputation as an effective, revered legislator came from his passion for the issues he supported and his willingness to work with people on either side of the aisle to transform his ideas into legislation.
“During his early career days he was a Kennedy,” Ellwood said, “but by the end he was the Senator."
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— Staff writer Lauren D. Kiel can be reached at lkiel@fas.harvard.edu.