The most remarkable thing about Chappaquiddick is that Kennedy was 37 years old at the time. This was not some youthful shenanigans gone wrong. Everything about the story — the drinking, philandering, poor judgment and lies — were the man. It was entirely in character

Senator Ted Kennedy, who died yesterday, will be best remembered in this country as a true friend of Ireland, but he will be remembered in the United States for much more. He was elected to the US Senate in 1962 at a time when the Irish-Americans had finally come out of the political shadows following the election of his brother, John F Kennedy, to the White House in 1960.