Mark Hemingway at the Corner followed up on an item at Jules Crittenden's blog late last night.
What perked Hemingway's interest was Mr. Crittenden's relay of the following yesterday concerning an exchange during NPR's Diane Rehm Show:
Newsweek’s Ed Klein (told interviewer) Katty Kay about Kennedy’s love of humor. How the late senator loved to hear and tell Chappaquiddick jokes, and was always eager to know if anyone had heard any new ones. Not that Kennedy lacked remorse, Klein quickly added, seeming to intuit that my jaw and perhaps those of other listeners had just hit the floorboards. I gather it was a self-deprecating maneuver on Kennedy’s part, exercised with the famous Kennedy charm, though it sounds like one of those “I guess you had to have been there” things.
Hemingway went and listened. There is a 1:40 YouTube posted of what he heard.
Here is the transcript of that clip, without wrap-up niceties:
Kay: Ed Klein, that's what I'm hearing today, that people are sad at his passing, and yet celebrating this huge life and its huge long list of accomplishments.
Klein: I think he'd be the last person who would want us, those he's left behind, to, um, be, uh, morose and, and full of bathos. I think he, he --
Kay: He would come in with a big guffawing laugh and make us laugh too.
Klein: He would, yes. You're so right, he would. And he'd probably have a joke to tell as well.
Kay: At his own expense.
Klein: Well y'know, he, I don't know if you know this or not but, one of his favorite topics of humor was indeed Chappaquiddick itself. And he would ask people, "have you heard any new jokes about Chappaquiddick?"
I mean, that is just the most amazing thing. It's not that he didn't feel remorse about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne (background music begins building), but that he still always saw, um, the other side of everything and the ridiculous side of things, too.
Kay: Ed Klein, former foreign editor of Newsweek, and author of a new book on Ted Kennedy.
Beyond observing that a post-mortem observation such as this about a conservative would be front-page and top-story material almost anywhere and everywhere, I would rather not comment on this, as it pretty much speaks for itself. I don't want that to stop others, not that I could.
—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
I gather it was a
August 28, 2009 - 11:39 ET by motherbeltI gather it was a self-deprecating maneuver on Kennedy’s part,
exercised with the famous Kennedy charm, though it sounds like one of
those “I guess you had to have been there” things....
It's not that he didn't feel remorse about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne (background music begins building), but that he still always saw, um, the other side of everything and the ridiculous side of things, too.
Self -deprecating? Ridiculous??? There was a "ridiculous" side to that tragedy? Parndon me if I don't get it!
The famous Kennedy charm?????
That whole thing is downright sickening....it literally nauseates me.
I can just picture it now....Ted Kennedy was making Mary Jo Kopechne jokes, and we all just laughed, and laughed.....
I hate to say something about someone who's dead, but how anyone with even a shred of decency could joke about that is just beyond me.
I haven't watched a minute of TV coverage, and now I refuse to even read another word about this man, here or anywhere else!!
HOW YOUR SENATOR CAN BE LIONIZED
August 28, 2009 - 11:48 ET by reelman46RSS | Comments RSS
HOW MY SENATOR CAN BECOME LIONIZED TOO
TO MY SENATOR DAVID VITTER OF LOUISIANA…
Now we have the template for congressional greatness…
so here is the “must do” list…you must do all of these to achieve greatness:
1…Be born with a multimillionaire trust fund but understand poverty and its culture completely.
2…Pay someone to take a test for you in college (Harvard of course).
3…Have a famous big brother who was a serial adulterer that gave Castro Cuba (gonna be tough to meet this requirement)
4…Become known for decades as a loud abusive arrogant booze hound.
5…Become a known serial fornicator for decades (while claiming good catholic status year after year)
6…Become a strident abortion supporter for 40 years (while claiming good catholic status year after year)
7…Leave a young lady to suffocate in a car underwater while making CYA calls for hours and skip away (another tough requirement)
8…Become an ecology-kook who blocks any windmills near his residences
9…Become a loud liar about conservative SC nominees like Thomas and Bork will praising Ginsberg and S. Sotomayer as mainstream.
10..Become a media love object so anything you do is fine or forgiven or just his lion ways
See David, its not complicated…its all here as historical fact…the
golden path to lion status in a country dominated by secular socialists.
Notice how easy these can be checked off if you are a rich lefty ethics-free democrat surrounded by a diaper-changing media?
Count them, over 46 years of forgiveness.
Is this a great country David, or what?
Doug Schexnayder, Ph.D. (theconservativecrawfish)
The knight (night) from "came a little"
August 29, 2009 - 16:19 ET by wotsiznamewotsizname A former student who was working as a Congressional Aide told me the Washington joke going around the next day: "But Teddy, what if I get pregnant?" "Well, my dear, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
I am really
August 28, 2009 - 13:51 ET by DEVILDOCMOMwith you on this mother. When I have had Fox on and they start coverage, I turn it off. Rush commented this morning that viewership was down for the coverage, what a surprise-not.
I read this on the internet this morning and could not believe it. What kind of person (ok, I answered my own question) could joke about this? One with kennedy's beliefs, thats who.
the joke willl on this press throughout the annals of history
August 28, 2009 - 21:15 ET by TruthMongerIn a modern context a sycophant (from the Greek συκοφάντης sykophántēs) is a servile person who, acting in his or her own self-interest, attempts to win favor by flattering one or more influential persons, or by saying lies against a fellow citizen for gaining a kind of profit. These actions are executed at the cost of his or her own personal pride, principles, and peer respect. Such a manner is called obsequiousness.
No Wonder Newsweek Is Circling The Bowl
August 28, 2009 - 22:17 ET by farstar99Slime like this is still working there.
Jokes about a woman you killed, Ted?
August 28, 2009 - 11:33 ET by Mike BrattonI am shocked, I tell you!
"Oh, if Miss Kopechne were only around, she'd have such appreciation for all Ted's health-care work. Only problem is, he didn't care about her health!"
Bah-dum-bump!
Hey, Ted! Heard the latest joke...?
--Mike
www.thebrattonreport...
I guarantee you Ted's not
August 28, 2009 - 14:39 ET by winston smithI guarantee you Ted's not laughing now.
ditto.....
August 28, 2009 - 15:46 ET by pantrymanSMITTY....DITTO
The Rich Man and
August 28, 2009 - 15:55 ET by vrwc13The Rich Man and Lazarus
19"There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' 25But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' 27And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' 29But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'" Luke 16 ESV
Thanks. I usually make the Biblical references...
August 30, 2009 - 00:44 ET by Mike Bratton...but I left the door open, hoping others would step through.
I'm not one to judge, and it is my ardent hope that Kennedy had a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, his words and actions lead to an unfortunate conclusion to the contrary--and if, indeed, that is the case, then that would mean Kennedy is experiencing a unique torment even as we speak.
Again, I stress my hope that such is not the case. Regardless of what our new dictator Obama says on the subject, there is only one way to Heaven, and that way is through Jesus Christ alone. Not merely by paying lip service, or declaring oneself to be a member of a Christian denomination while working tirelessly to achieve anti-Christian goals, but by a commitment of one's life to Christ.
I also hope that Kennedy's passing will cause people to engage in a season of introspection, making sure our outward lives match up with our stated inner beliefs.
--Mike
www.thebrattonreport...
I can just imagine. "Yeah,
August 28, 2009 - 17:26 ET by GrannyGrump42I can just imagine. "Yeah, if only abortion had been safe and legal, I never would have had to kill that girl!"
GG42... Parents were paid
August 28, 2009 - 17:34 ET by bigtimerGG42...
Parents were paid off well though for their silence, let alone intimidation.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
What a sick..................
August 28, 2009 - 11:33 ET by BEGRUNTSOB!!! Makes a joke out of the woman he killed!!! He, and Klein are sick (expletives)!!!! He should rot in hell!!!!
"A nation can suffer it's fool's, but cannot survive the traitor"
Cicero
You are right Tom
August 28, 2009 - 11:37 ET by jacktheripperI'm speechless!!!!
"The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can
bribe the people with their own money." – Alexis de Tocqueville
ludacris matthews sez
August 28, 2009 - 21:19 ET by TruthMongerludacris matthews sez "CAN'T YOU #&%* PEOPLE TAKE A WEEK OFF...?!"
If Mary Jo Kopechne had ..
August 28, 2009 - 11:36 ET by Gary HallIf Mary Jo Kopechne had .. managed to escape, bruised and confused, but otherwise OK, and walked away from the scene, leaving Teddy there to drown - not calling for help for 10 hours -- one only wonders how she would be remembered? Would criminal charges have been filed?
Picture Mary Jo Kopechne telling jokes about Teddy and Chappaquiddick -- you know, having a good laugh with the press.
(;~/ gary
Good point Gary
August 28, 2009 - 13:16 ET by SickofLibsMJK would have been bunking with Squeaky Fromme or one of the other Manson girls, at least for a while.
Not that Kennedy lacked
August 28, 2009 - 11:39 ET by bigtimerNot that Kennedy lacked remorse, Klein quickly added, seeming to intuit
that my jaw and perhaps those of other listeners had just hit the
floorboards. I gather it was a self-deprecating maneuver on Kennedy’s
part, exercised with the famous Kennedy charm, though it sounds like
one of those “I guess you had to have been there” things.
Self-deprecating my arse!
Charm?
You have to be kidding me!
This proves once and for all how mentally ill the left are...in spades and then some.
Despicable to say the least.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
looks like the knee pads
August 28, 2009 - 21:25 ET by TruthMongerlooks like the knee pads this week are double strength bt
Well I rufuse to celebrate
August 28, 2009 - 21:38 ET by general companyHis passing, but I do reserve the right to celebrate the fact he is no longer Senator.: ]
Lord please forgive me for that right there!!
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
The famous Kennedy charm
August 28, 2009 - 11:41 ET by Airforce_5_OThe famous Kennedy charm. Isn't that a ruffy and blender full of Margaritas?
Liberalism: The haunting feeling that someone, somewhere, can help themselves.
the dead kennedys
August 29, 2009 - 05:13 ET by OldJoeNow known as the famous dead Kennedys. (also the name of a punk band from the 80s)
The more I read about this
August 28, 2009 - 11:42 ET by MightyMouthThe more I read about this man's life, the more I despise him, and those who Lionize him!
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
MM... Same here...I knew
August 28, 2009 - 11:45 ET by bigtimerMM...
Same here...I knew quite a lot from tons of books I've read over the years, like Rush is saying about this blog post right now...this is SICK!
That it is to put it mildly.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
JFK Too
August 28, 2009 - 11:48 ET by slickwillie2001JFK would also tell jokes about how his father helped steal the Presidential election of 1960. This just demonstrates how far above the law the Kennedy Crime Family was.
predict the lefty spin
August 28, 2009 - 12:00 ET by candanceHere are your choices:
A) Don't speak ill of the dead.
B) I joke about death all the time, don't you?
C) Rush Limbaugh is a jerk.
D) Crickets.
Don't forget: E) It's
August 28, 2009 - 15:45 ET by eL DubyaDon't forget:
E) It's Bush's fault
Sickening, nuff said.
August 28, 2009 - 12:01 ET by RowaneSickening, nuff said.
"Here is the transcript of that clip, without wrap-up niceties:"
August 28, 2009 - 12:03 ET by upcountrywaterIt's one thing reading about it....
But to hear it on that YT clip.... And that damn piano....
Duct tape squared..
How ironic is this; Bill
August 28, 2009 - 12:04 ET by billbHow ironic is this; Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy both have a connection to CHAPPAQUIDDICK!
I have always failed to see
August 28, 2009 - 12:08 ET by Chris NormanI have always failed to see the allure of the Kennedys. To me, they were (and are) an ugly, loutish family, who's reputation for charity is derived mostly from prying money out of others.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
I am so glad that there are
August 28, 2009 - 12:08 ET by Hack CaffertyI am so glad that there are no more piece of shit Kennedeys in Washington DC. The nepotism was disgusting. The brothers were nothing more than sexually abusive frat boys. They're gone now so lets pleeease moveon and after this weekend never mention this piece of shit again.
X
August 28, 2009 - 13:05 ET by serfer62The man was a turd...
Ted Kennedy's supporters are what he was
August 28, 2009 - 13:11 ET by R D HelmMentally ill.
Every last one of them.
-Dave
Even when the government tries to kiss you, it is just a prelude to a good screwing. -Neal Boortz
Dave... I Second
August 28, 2009 - 13:12 ET by bigtimerDave...
I Second that!
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
bt,
August 28, 2009 - 13:15 ET by R D HelmI am guessing the funeral tomorrow for that worthless blob of pickled blubber is going to be a disgusting spectacle.
It's going to make the Wellstone disaster look positively somber.
These people have absolutely no class whatsoever.
-Dave
Even when the government tries to kiss you, it is just a prelude to a good screwing. -Neal Boortz
My daughter and I bought
August 28, 2009 - 13:22 ET by Radical1979My daughter and I bought tickets weeks ago for a bus trip to DC tomorow. Anybody know where I can get an "I hate the Kennedy's" or "Remember Mary Jo!" tshirt to wear?
Hey Rad... What a great
August 28, 2009 - 13:41 ET by bigtimerHey Rad...
What a great idea!
I especially like the last suggestion.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
Its happening now had to
August 28, 2009 - 19:57 ET by countryfirstIts happening now had to turn fox off they are showing it, it is sickening to listen to , also the rino mccain is giving a speech, I am sorry that sarah had to get involved with him, what a douch wish he would change parties he is a disgrace
Mentally ill
August 28, 2009 - 13:37 ET by BuzzySorry, but I believe even someone with mental illness would have tried to save Mary Jo's life.
That said, over on the daily kook's site they have a section for people to tell their stories about Teddy. If they haven't deleted it, there is one from Mary Jo K saying she remembers her and Teddy driving around a little tipsy and Ted decided to wash his car in the river, trouble was he forgot about her being in there.
Isn't that a screamer Teddy?
Hey Buzzy...a real screamer
August 28, 2009 - 13:40 ET by bigtimerHey Buzzy...a real screamer indeed.
These people are sick..insanity prevails in their world.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
I heard one woman crying on
August 28, 2009 - 13:23 ET by Radical1979I heard one woman crying on the radio news "it's like I lost my father". Either she's REALLY stupid or here father was a real piece of sH%^ too.
Pops Teddy
August 28, 2009 - 13:40 ET by BuzzyMaybe he really was her father. Ted was like his brothers and father, they could not keep Mr. Blue Vein under control.
And men with that little
August 28, 2009 - 13:46 ET by Radical1979And men with that little self control were considered great statesmen? God knows what information about our country that mistress of a mobster who also slept with JFK passed onto the mobster.
RIP MJK
August 28, 2009 - 13:59 ET by retrocon"...have you heard any new jokes about Chappaquiddick?"
Only one.
August 28, 2009 - 14:58 ET by jessieHMost murderers like to brag about the people they kill. Why should Kennedy be any different?
Jokes about Chappaquiddick?
August 28, 2009 - 15:12 ET by PrairieSkyThe very fact that Kennedy was interested in jokes that had anything even remotely related to Chappaquiddick is disgusting. There is absolutely nothing funny about that entire subject. And Klein's lame attempt to cover by saying that the jokes Kennedy found funny about that horrendous situation were self-deprecating, is absurd. What is the matter with these people??
The fact that viewership is down is no big shock...The vast majority of Americans are not the least bit interested in any of all the hand-wringing and carrying-on that the media, including Fox(which really ticks me off), is engaged in right now. I am sick to death of hearing about anything concerning Ted Kennedy or the rest of his family, and I think most Americans feel the same way. When I tune into Fox, and there's something on about Kennedy, I immediately change the channel. There are a lot more interesting and important things going on in the country and the world, than the non-stop, 24 hour coverage that we have been inundated with about him.
Enough already!
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Hey Sky... I wished it
August 28, 2009 - 15:16 ET by bigtimerHey Sky...
I wished it would be enough already...we are going to hear this type of insanity from the leftist loons forever.
Can't you just see the newer books written already...full of BS to-boot.
Obama's a Community Agitator, a walking, talking destroyer. ~ Rush Limbaugh
bt...It's all just...
August 28, 2009 - 15:25 ET by PrairieSkysick-making...This man is being held up as such a great hero and patriot, when there is plenty in his past that runs contrary to that notion. Hopefully, as time passes and clearer eyes take the time to really dissect the whole picture who of Ted Kennedy was, a more balanced portrait of him will emerge. I am sick to death with all this "Lion of the Senate" hysteria...Geez.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
"Chappaquiddick One of Ted's 'Favorite Topics of Humor'
August 28, 2009 - 15:25 ET by vrwc13...then uncle ted won't mind these then...
Q: What was Gary Hart's biggest mistake?
A: Not letting Teddy Kennedy drive Donna Rice home.
Did you hear that Kennedy had actually died on August 24th? In keeping with tradition, the family didn't report it until the next day.
When they were selecting music for the funeral, the family wanted something from the 60's, so they went with "Bridge Over Troubled Water". from here
v
...couldn't help myself, sorry
HAHAHAHAHAHA
August 28, 2009 - 18:07 ET by American.PatriotThanks you for the spot on jokes.
I know that poor Teddy is already rolling over in his casket. After all, even the Pope hasn't responded to his death.
I "hope" that Camelot is over. Enough of the scum-bag Kennedy clan.
What really
August 28, 2009 - 21:07 ET by oldmanateefrosts my @ss quicker than sitting on a 3 foot snow cone is on FOX they just showed interviews with people that just can't believe he's gone included what looked like a 9 year old kid, telling what a "great statesman and leader" Teddy was. Please do not insult me with what a 9 year old thinks about anything above the new slide on the playground.