Biographer Neal Gabler argues Ted Kennedy's life can be divided into two sections. The first is when Kennedy catches the tide of liberalism and used that momentum to advance liberal policy goals. And the second is when he pushes against the prevailing feeling that the government should no longer protect the New Deal as stringently as before. Gabler argues that Kennedy, despite his well-known personal shortcomings, understood the dire needs of Americans who were less-well-off than he, and that his fights for gay marriage, universal health insurance and against the Iraq War were parts of his effort to protect those in need.

Our discussion about vol. 1 of Neal’s biography of Ted Kennedy, “Catching the Wind,” can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axelbank-reports-history-and-today/id1521053272?i=1000502463586

More information on his book from Penguin Random House can be found here

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