Kennedy Family

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A 78-year-old prospective juror and self-described oddball left the decorum of the William Kennedy Smith rape trial a shambles with a free-wheeling commentary on life, politics and the foibles of the Kennedy family."

HYANNIS PORT, Mass. -- It began early yesterday, this gravitation of neighbors, vacationers, news crews and police officers, this spontaneous vigil outside the Kennedy family's waterfront compound, where the hopes for John F. Kennedy Jr.'s survival dwindled as the crowd grew and grew.Throughout the hot, breezy day, cars squeezed onto the grass along Ivannough and Irving avenues. Teen-agers came by bike. Parents pushed their infants there in strollers. All of them were drawn by their curiosity and their emotions to this legendary American family in yet another crisis.

Here are excerpts of reactions to the John F. Kennedy Jr. tragedy from some of the nation's newspaper editorial pages and national and local columnists:David Nyhan, Boston Globe -- At one point in the '70s, when I was the editor running the Globe newsroom, I got a call from Dick Goodwin, [President John F. Kennedy's] speech writer and [Jacqueline Kennedy's] counselor. Would it be OK, Goodwin inquired guardedly, if John Jr. came to work for you as a reporter?Sure, it would be OK. But it never happened.

You can buy many new books about John F. Kennedy as the 30th anniversary of his assassination approaches: books about the assassination itself, his children and his presidency.But like the numerous other Kennedy books that have come out since his assassination Nov. 22, 1963, taken singly they offer only a fragmented look at the 35th president. A reader still can't find a good, thorough biography -- the kind that not only looks at Kennedy's life but also places his presidency in context, much as David McCullough did last year with his "Truman: a Biography."

Weary and short of time, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend rehearsed out loud her final speech of the day as she hurried into Washington. Her voice trailed off. She didn't like the sound of what she was saying.She scratched out a few sentences in her prepared remarks. Then, as she stared out the car window, the right words came to her, words she knows by heart, the words of her father."Moral courage," she said a half-hour later at an Israeli tribute to her father, Robert F. Kennedy, "is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence.

THE FIRST, almost universal, reaction to the news of another tragedy striking the Kennedy family was pained disbelief. That gut-level sense led, for many, to a second, less sympathetic response: Why did John F. Kennedy Jr. do it?Why did he -- a relatively inexperienced pilot not licensed for instrument landings -- attempt a nighttime flight complicated by haze that would give even seasoned pilots pause? Why did he put himself and loved ones -- his wife and sister-in-law -- at risk? Did he allow the famous Kennedy machismo to obscure his better sense?

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose personal life has been the stuff of both national myth and melodrama for most of his adult years, plans to get married, his office announced yesterday.Mr. Kennedy, 60, will wed Victoria Reggie, 38, a Washington lawyer whom the senator said he has known for years and has been dating for nine months. It will be a second marriage for both."I love Vicki and her children very much," Mr. Kennedy said in a news release. "We began dating last June, and she has brought enormous happiness into my life.

SILVER SPRING - State Del. Mark K. Shriver offered a preview of his first televised campaign ad for Congress yesterday and, notably, it didn't mention his middle name of Kennedy or allude to the family's legacy. Nor do his handlers expect to use Kennedy references in future campaign spots, although they won't rule out that possibility. "I won't say never, but Mark is interested in talking about his track record fighting for people," said Mike Henry, his campaign manager. The 30-second introductory spot, which begins airing today in the Washington-area market, launches what is expected to be a flood of commercials by Democratic candidates in the 8th District congressional primary - the nation's most expensive House race in money raised.

TWO WEEKS AGO, Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend sat down with me for an hourlong interview for an article focusing on the early stages of her campaign for governor in 2002.She talked about her crime prevention initiatives, her new concentration on economic development issues and her political plans.One thing we did not discuss."Did you realize I didn't ask you about your family?" I said as we wrapped up.Townsend paused and smiled."You know, that's the first time that's ever happened," she said.

DENVER - The lights will dim inside the Pepsi Center tonight, a shock of silver hair will appear on giant monitors, and connections will be made once again between Camelot and the Obama nation. A film tribute to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a 46-year-veteran of the Senate diagnosed with a brain tumor this year, will dominate the opening hours of the Democratic National Convention. Watching from a prime seat will be Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Maryland's former lieutenant governor and Kennedy's niece, one of the state's 99 delegates here.