Susan john, your latest biography is ted kennedy a life. Please sum up the man and politician in a couple of seconds. John he was a u. S. Senator who succeeded despite serious flaws and a life, a tormented life filled with tragedy. That is how i would describe him. Susan you write in the book that his life is a lens to examine the cause. Explain. John jfk came into the office as something of a centrist. His father had worked on fdrs new deal so they had roof they had roots in the left but the movements of the 1960s, the feminist movement, the antiwar movement, they adopted the positions and became martyrs to the position, becoming symbols of the american left. Ted had more than 40 years in the senate and you can see the things he fought for and against and it becomes liberalism from fdrs death up until the most recent time of hyper polarization. Susan does his brand of liberalism exist today . John no. I would say the bernie sand folks are probably more enthusiastic and extreme than he