There are two battling story lines about the career of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy: Here at the Prospect,
we recall the Lion of Liberalism, treating his 1980 convention speech
as the hinge of his long career. Meanwhile, on cable news, or in the
hands of Dan Balz at The Washington Post, he is the icon of
bipartisan compromise, whose close working partnership with Sen. Orrin
Hatch of Utah among others was legendary. Earlier this week, a number
of Republicans including Hatch invoked a disingenuous, "if only…
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