Joan & Vicki Kennedy: The Liberal's Lionesses

Over the years, Ted Kennedy relied a lot on his wives, first Joan Bennett and then Vicki Reggie, and the two women couldn’t have been more different, writes Martha Moore of the USA Today. Joan, one of the celebrated Camelot-era Kennedy wives, was reserved and troubled, but it was she who campaigned for Kennedy when he broke his back in 1964.

Joan also campaigned for Ted in 1980, even though the couple was separated, and it meant answering questions about her then-public alcoholism. “She put herself out there many times for that family,” says a biographer. Vicki, by contrast, seemed born for politics. She kept Ted away from scandal, ensuring he was never photographed with a drink, and made key decisions in his 1994 race against Mitt Romney. Now, at 55, she’s seen as a possible successor. (More Ted Kennedy stories.)