the history of the kennedy family. if you just look back, if you think about it, we always talk about expectations of the moment. well, when jack kennedy ran for the presidency, it wasn t supposed to be him. it was supposed to be his older brother, joe, who was killed in the war. after jack kennedy was assassinated, the torch passed to bobby kennedy. he was assassinated. ted kennedy ran for president and never quite made it. but you have the legislative perspective. and the republicans who served with him, don t disagree with this, the most accomplished united states senator in our lifetime. the lifetime of anybody watching the program tonight. the kennedy family has been with this country politically and has been at the forefront, whether it s civil rights, gay rights. president obama mentioned in that brief speech tonight, ted kennedy s fight for affordable health care. it s hard if you look back at the political history, jack kennedy serving in the cold war days. and ted kennedy i
could have retreated to a life of luxury and ease. but he chose to live life in the arena. sailing sometimes against the wind. sometimes with it. and that s why 50 years later, john f. kennedy stands for prosperity as he did in life. young, bold, and daring. and he stays with us in our imagination. not because he left us too soon. but because he embodied the character of the people he led. resilient. resolute. fearless and fun-loving. defiant in the face of impossible odds. and most of all, determined to make the world anew. not settling for what is. but rather, for what might be. earlier, the obamas and the clintons laid a wreath at president kennedy s grave.
enthusiasm usually reserved for pop stars or the japanese royal family. do you remember anyone ever getting this excited about a u.s. ambassador here in japan? heck no say the watanabes. caroline kennedy doesn t have diplomatic experience. that doesn t matter, emphatically, she can do the job. this is a country after all where blood lines trump all, why american nancy nichols who lives in japan says i think it s great. it s comes full circle. reporter: ambassador kennedy returned to her carriage to begin her path in u.s.-japan history. now, the ambassador did say she is looking forward to getting to work, as far as marking the significance of this
formality and all of it witnessed by an unprecedented crowd. clutching cameras. and waving, thousands of japanese lined the streets. to watch a daughter fulfill. this is significant here. jfk was to be the first u.s. president to visit japan but he was assassinated. 50 years later, nearly to the day of his death, his only surviving child made her way through the streets of tokyo by horse drawn carriage to the emperor. she passed by many in this crowd who witnessed the first ever live tfts images broadcast out of the u.s. to japan 50 years ago, news coverage of the assassination. images of the two young kennedy children seared into the collective japanese memory. caroline. caroline is like my friend, she says, of course we are in totally different worlds but to me she is special. this is the sort of
kennedy when he was a young congressman. this is according to thom as niece who revealed that during a memorial for reporter over a weekend. when a friend asked how it went, the young kennedy was quote, too fresh. it s time for the news nation gut check. members intensified their calls for washington redskins to change their name, which they say is offensive to native americans. the right thing to do needs to be done, it sthmub done. those are the ideals we aspire for. we want dan snyder to succeed but under the right ideals that america stands for. the conference was planned weeks ago but the president weighed in on matter in an interview this weekend. i don t think they are there are redskins fans that mean offense. i ve got to say if i were the