A recess from history

We have long since learned that Senator Edward Kennedy is not exactly a model of probity or candor. We learned in 1987 in his preview of “Robert Bork’s America” on the Senate floor that Senator Kennedy was more or less willing to say anything, regardless of its ludicrous falsity. So Senator Kennedy’s condemnation yesterday of President Bush’s recess appointment of John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations is, as the story says, “predictable.”
The words that Kennedy used regarding the president’s exercise of his recess appointment power — “a devious maneuver that evades the constitutional requirement of Senate consent” — were a little harsh. Over at Joe’s Dartblog, Joe Malchow tells “Another recess story” that puts Kennedy’s words in context. Joe’s story involves Senator Kennedy’s brother John, Thurgood Marshall, and Senator Kennedy’s colleague, former Ku Klux Klan Kleagle Robert Byrd. One can’t help wondering if Senator Kennedy’s condemnation of yesterday’s recess appointment, sadly necessitated by the likes of Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd, applies to President Kennedy’s 1961 recess appointment, sadly necessitated by the likes of Robert Byrd.
Robert Byrd is a living link to so much American history, it is a shame that Senator Kennedy has failed to learn from his negative example. (Thanks to Tom Pavluvcik.)

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