Edward 'Ted' M Kennedy, fellow Pisces

The veteran Democratic member of the US Senate since 1962 died this morning aged 77 at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Mass

I have lived in the US for more than 20 years and witnessed first-hand the defining moments of Edward M Kennedy. I have watched the impact he had had, the influence and power he had wielded, have felt antagonized by his crusades at times and mesmerized at others, and always have respected the man for his intelligent grasp of issues and their resolve, and his pragmatism that allowed for last-ditch compromise in the wee hours of any day of his 47-year tenure in the US Senate.

I most vividly remember his keynote speech in 1980 at the Democratic National Convention, a fireworks of eloquence, at which he dealt fatal blows to the Carter presidency, positioned himself as the champion of causes for the millions of disenfranchised, weak and muted. But he failed at securing the presidential nomination for himself and secured the arrival of Republican President Ronald Reagan - all for the good of the country.

The social engagement of Kennedy, an unlikely twist of a character full of flaws, gave him a cause that would catapult him into the position of the most respected and most powerful senator in US history. Insofar he has done more for the bettering of the nation than any of his brothers, president and Attorney General included. If it hadn't been for this fateful July evening in 1969, when Ted Kennedy drove his presidential aspirations into a ditch, plunging into a flooded ravine and swimming away from the wreck (and the presidency), leaving the passenger Mary Jo Kopechny behind to drown, the Massachusetts senator would have become president of the US eventually. Instead, he became the godfather of Democratic presidents, from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama. Without Kennedy's nod and endorsement, Obama's candidacy in 2008 would have failed.

I also remember the late Kennedy patriarch as a man who supported for many years unification of Ireland and the withdrawal of British troops from the Province of Ulster. Only in the wake of massive global terrorism unleashed against the US did he reconsider his terrorist supporting agenda and withdrew his support for the terrorist IRA.

Rest in peace, Senator. You will be greatly missed on both sides of the aisle.