Thousands Come Out for Day 2 of Kennedy Wake

43rd president will represent family at service

(NEWSER) - George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush won't attend Ted Kennedy's funeral tomorrow, the AP reports. All of the living presidents had been expected at the senator's service in Boston, but the 85-year-old Bush changed his mind after learning his son would be among the mourners, a rep says. Bush 41 will "amply and well represent" the family, the spokesman says. More»

(NEWSER) - Thousands of constituents and admirers turned out this afternoon to honor Ted Kennedy as a motorcade bearing the senator's body from his Cape Cod home to his brother's presidential library wound through the streets of Boston. Some wept, some applauded as both locals and out-of-towners flooded to say goodbye. "We’re his family,” one Bostonian told the Globe. “We loved him so much, and we’ll miss him so much." More»

Camelot replay overshadowed real accomplishments, redemption

(NEWSER) - The Kennedy “legacy” is not pretty, precisely because it requires so much media “airbrushing” to stay intact. “One of the many dreadful aspects,” Christopher Hitchens writes for Slate, “is the now-unbreakable grip of celebrity politics, image-doctoring, stage management, and ‘torch passing’ rhetoric in general.” But even the venomous pundit saves his harshest words for Ted Kennedy's hagiographers. More»

(AP) - Ted Kennedy received a final tribute today befitting his huge profile on the American political scene. President Obama, three former presidents, dozens of congressmen past and present, and celebrities ranging from Jack Nicholson to Tony Bennett attended the funeral at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica in Boston. Placido Domingo and Yo-Yo Ma performed during the two-hour service, which also featured younger Kennedys paying tribute to their late patriarch. (To see images, click on Slideshow, at left.) More»

(NEWSER) - With a tropical storm bearing down on the Northeast, President Obama and Michelle Obama will leave Martha's Vineyard tomorrow, a day ahead of schedule, to ensure he arrives in Boston in time to deliver a eulogy at Ted Kennedy's funeral Saturday. If possible, they'll return to the Vineyard afterward; if they can't, they'll travel directly to Washington, Politico reports. More»