Here's a report from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappaquiddick_incident
“It is widely believed that the Chappaquiddick incident was the major factor in Kennedy's decision not to run for president in 1972. The case resulted in much satire of Kennedy, including a National Lampoon page showing a floating Volkswagen Beetle with the remark that Kennedy would have been elected president had he been driving a Beetle that night; this satire resulted in legal action by Volkswagen, claiming unauthorized use of its trademark.
"Ted Kennedy challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in the 1980 U.S. presidential election. On November 4, 1979, CBS aired a one-hour television special entitled “Teddy” presented by Roger Mudd. The program consisted of an interview with Kennedy, interspersed with visuals. Much of the show was devoted to the Chappaquiddick incident. During the interview Mudd repeatedly questioned Kennedy about the incident, and at one point directly accused him of lying. During the interview, Kennedy also hurt himself by giving what was considered an incoherent answer to the question “Why do you want to be President?”, and by calling the US-supported Shah of Iran “one of the most violent regimes in the history of mankind”. “Teddy” is credited by several sources with inflicting serious political damage on Kennedy. The Senator went on to lose the nomination to Carter."
Mudd was never heard of again (sort of) until he showed up as a host on the History Channel.
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