Like the title asks; should Kennedy be allowed to hold his seat? I have seen several people on the board here comment on McCain being to old for a job and he also has the possibility of skin cancer returning. Kennedy is more or less in the same boat now. What say you?

Yes. Kennedy's gig is a walk on the beach next to POTUS, and his hand isn't hovering over a Big Red Button.
One might even say that Kennedy's already been hired, while McCain is still filling out an application for employment.

__________________
You meet the same folks on the way up as you do on the way down.

I think several observations may be in order here, viz.:

(1) It is my understanding that Sen. Kennedy is eager to return to the Senate as soon as possible; and that he believes he many be able to do so by September. Whether all will work smoothly to that end, is an open question. But it very well may.

(2) This question should not be tinged with cynical political calculations. Since the Senate is already in Democratic hands, what with two independents (the socialist Bernie Sanders of VT and the eclectic thinker Joe Lieberman of NY) caucusing with the Democrats, even Sen. Kennedy's sudden removal would leave the Democrats with a 50-49 majority. As thin as a sheet of tissue paper, but almost certain to be enhanced in January (if the Republicans can keep their net losses to around four or five seats this time around, it will be a job reasonably well done).

(3) No serious political analyst could believe that the voters of Massachusetts might replace Sen. Kennedy with a conservative Republican--or even a New England-style Republican (which is just a more candid term for the weasel word "moderate," as it is typically used by the American left to define the only form of semi-acceptable Republican).

In the end, therefore, I have no problem with Sen. Kennedy's keeping his Senate seat for as long as he can function adequately.

Oh, and an addendum: This is really no time for politics-as-usual, as regarding Sen. Kennedy. Let us all pray for the senior senator from Massachusetts in this time of trouble for both him and his family.

Cancer took the life of my own father, some 52 years ago. Cancer has also taken the lives of many neighbors and acquaintances I have had, both as a child and as an adult. Brain cancer, specifically, took the life of the mother of my wife's friend. It is a vicious and unyielding enemy.

I kind of feel like Kennedy should resign presently. I rather doubt that he will, and if he can come back and function well, then more power to him I guess.

__________________
"Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"
-Joseph Welch

He said he felt fine after the operation. He was awake through it all. Now he has to do chemo. The usual life expectancy is one year with that type of cancer, but there's a woman who's been alive for 5 years now, with the same thing.

Maybe he'll be OK! For a while....

The only valid question here is whether Kennedy can still perform his duties as Senator. If he can't, then he should resign.

__________________
A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes toward the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

Personally, if I were him, I'd resign and spend the remaining time that I had with my family. But seeing how important that some of the issues are for him, I fully expect him to fight for the cause until his last breath. Going out while fighting a battle that is that important to him, nothing is more patriotic.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

If he's capable of the job there is no reason for him to resign. He's not the first official in Washington to have a bout with cancer and still return to the job. Arlen Specter comes to mind.

__________________
Carolina Politics Online

Sam

Hey if Bush can keep the presidency while be basically a retard then I see no reason why Kennedy can't keep his senate seat while he goes through Chemo.

Hehe, yeah.

I agree with others here that if he remains capable of performing the functions of his job, Kennedy should keep doing it.

__________________


"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty." Thomas Jefferson

Walter Mondale: "George Bush doesn't have the manhood to apologize." George Bush: "Well, on the manhood thing, I'll put mine up against his any time."