Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, suggested on ABC there was room for compromise on the public option.
Kennedy, he said, “would fight for it, and he would do everything in his power to get it, just like he did for the minimum wage or like he did for children’s health care, et cetera,” Kerry said.
“But if he didn’t see the ability to be able to get it done, he would not throw the baby out with the bathwater,” he said. “We have to make these changes. And he would find the best way forward.”
Republican and Democratic colleagues alike lamented Kennedy’s loss in a bitterly partisan time.
Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, praised him as a coalition builder who could set aside his personal agenda to attain larger objectives.
“One of the fundamental reasons for his success was once he gave his word, that was never broken,” McCain said.
Kennedy “compromised but he was a very dominant figure,” said Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. “And when he spoke, everybody listened. There was no question to that.”
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