Quotessence
Home / Authors / Edward Kennedy
Edward Kennedy

Edward Kennedy Quotes

Former United States Senator

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleAmericaJusticeBelieveJudgingPresidentYearsCitizensIfsNations

Famous Edward Kennedy Quotes

“It is extraordinary that each of the three individuals this president [ George W. Bush] has nominated for the Supreme Court - Chief Justice [John] Roberts, Harriet Miers and now Judge Alito - has served not only as a lawyer for the executive branch, but has defended the most expansive view of presidential authority.”

ThreeIndividualPresidentJusticeViewsJudgingAuthorityCourtExtraordinaryLawyerSupremeChiefsPresidentialBranchesExecutivesSupreme CourtPresident George W BushExecutive BranchChief Justice
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“When I look at that record in light of the 1985 job application to the [Ronald] Reagan Justice Department, it's even more troubling.That document lays out an ideological agenda that highlights Judge Samuel Alito in belonging to an alumni group at Princeton that opposed the admission of women and proposed to curb the admission of racial minorities.”

LooksLightJobsJusticeRecordsGroupsJudgingLaysDepartmentMinoritiesAgendasBelongingApplicationDocumentsIdeologicalHighlightsAdmissionCurbPrincetonAlumni
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“My father lifted me up in his strong gentle arms and said something I will never forget. He said, "I know you can do it. There is nothing that you can't do. We're going to climb that hill together even if it takes us all day." And at age 12 losing your leg pretty much seems like the end of the world. But as I climbed onto his back and we flew down the hill that day, I knew he was right. I knew I was going to be OK. You see, my father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable. And it is what we do with that loss - our ability to transform it into a positive event.”

WorldAgeTogetherFatherStrongLossAbilityForgetLosingProfoundHillsGentleNever ForgetYou Can Do ItEnd Of The World
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“My father enabled me to really believe in myself. And yet I've heard very similar stories - from many, many people. It's the way he approached his life. The way he approached his life - he was the eternal optimist. He was the most optimistic person that I've ever known. Even in the face of this diagnosis with cancer, he was filled with optimism about what he could do and what he could accomplish.”

PeopleBelieveFatherOptimismCancerAccomplishOptimisticOptimist
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“My dad said: Now Teddy, you have to make up your mind whether you want to have a constructive and positive attitude and influence on your time. And if you're not interested in a purposeful, useful, constructive life, I just want you to know I have other children that are out there that intend to have a purposeful and constructive life. And so you have to make up your mind about which direction you're going to go. I remember getting - climbing into bed and staring at the ceiling for a good time, but the night hadn't been over when it was very clear to me what kind of life I wanted to lead.”

MindKindChildrenRememberNightAttitudeInfluenceDadMy DadStaringPositive AttitudeGood TimesNot InterestedTeddy
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“The stark and tragic images of human suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have reminded us yet again that civil rights and equal rights are still the great unfinished business of America. The suffering has been disproportionately borne by the weak, the poor, the elderly and infirm, and largely African-Americans, who were forced by poverty, illness, unequal opportunity to stay behind and bear the brunt of the storm's winds and floods. I believe that kind of disparate impact is morally wrong in this, the richest country in the world.”

WorldBelieveKindCountrySufferingOpportunityI BelievePoorPovertyEqualWeakIllnessCivil RightsTragicFloodEqual RightsEqual OpportunityKatrinaHuman SufferingHurricane Katrina
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“I believe that the Constitution is not hostile to the idea that national problems can be solved at the national level through the cooperative efforts of the three coequal branches of government, the Congress, the executive and courts. But not every president, not every legislator and not every judge agrees that the federal government has the power to address and to try to remedy the twin national problems of poverty and access to equal opportunity.”

TryingBelieveProblemOpportunityI BelievePresidentEffortPovertyJudgingEqualConstitutionAgreeTwinsEqual Opportunity
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“This is the greatest lesson a child can learn. It is the greatest lesson anyone can learn. It has been the greatest lesson I have learned: if you persevere, stick w/it, work @ it, you have a real opportunity to achieve something. Sure, there will be storms along the way. And you might not reach your goal right away. But if you do your best and keep a true compass, you'll get there.”

IfsWayChildrenHas BeensRealMightOpportunityGoalAchieveLessonsSticksStormWorking ItI Have LearnedCompassPersevereReaching Your Goals
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“Immigrant families have integrated themselves into our communities, establishing deep roots. Whenever they have settled, they have made lasting contributions to the economic vitality and diversity of our communities and our nation. Our economy depends on these hard-working, taxpaying workers. They have assisted America in its economic boom.”

MadeHardAmericaNationsCommunityEconomyEconomicHard WorkDependsDiversityRootsWorkersImmigrationContributionImmigrantsLastingVitalityIntegratedOur CommunityDeep Roots
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“We should strengthen our immigration laws to prevent the importation of foreign wages and working conditions. We should make it illegal for employers to lay off Americans and then fill their jobs by bringing in workers from overseas. Any U.S. employer who wishes to hire from abroad - even for temporary jobs - should have to recruit U.S. workers first. And we should end the unskilled immigration that competes with young Americans just entering the job market.”

ShouldFirstsEndsJobsLawYoungWishConditionsShould HaveLaysWorkersImmigrationIllegalTemporaryWagesEnteringEmployersRecruitImmigration LawsWorking ConditionsImportation
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“Historians will come to their own judgments about President Kennedy. Here is how I choose to remember him. He was an heir to wealth who felt the anguish of the poor. He was an orator of excellence who spoke for the voiceless. He was a son of Harvard who reached out to the sons and daughters of Appalachia. He was a man of special grace who had a special care for the retarded and handicapped. He was a hero of war who fought hardest for peace. He said and proved in word and deed that one man can make a difference.”

MenSaidWarCareRememberPoliticsFeltPresidentDifferencesWealthPoorGraceSpecialSonHeroPoliticianJudgmentDaughterExcellenceDeedsHardestMaking A DifferenceSpokesOne ManHistorianAnguishHarvardHeirsRetardedOratorsSon And DaughterVoicelessHandicappedAppalachiaPresident Kennedy
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“For all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.”

KnowsYearsBelieveEndsAmericaNextI BelieveJusticeLibertyJourneyShoreSailSailingVoyagesPublic LifeLife JourneyLiberty And JusticeJustice For AllLiberty And Justice For All
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image

“Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized – the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old... When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception.”

ShouldBelieveHumansLooksChildrenWarEnoughMomentsWantedCertainI BelieveGrowsBornHuman BeingsResponsibilityPracticeRightsGenerationsStageErasHuman LifeDecentConceptionHaltThis GenerationUnwanted
Author:Edward Kennedy
Create image