Roger Mudd was a well known newsman who was suddenly ostracized after he questioned Ted Kennedy about Chappaquidddick before a presidential election Kennedy was ahead in and Kennedy fumbled badly in his answers.
A young woman’s life was prematurely lost that night, and the children and life she might have had never occurred. Kennedy went on to wreak havoc in America, leaving a legacy which we will be lucky to survive as a nation. I personally believe that to some extent he tried to assuage whatever guilt he felt by passing legislation that had social justice implications - but that ultimately proved to be destructive.
If he wanted to make amends for that event, I think he could have done a much better job by leaving the limelight, starting a charitable foundation for which he would get no credit, and perhaps working to stop alcohol abuse and drunk driving.
He, however, stayed firmly in the limelight, ran for the Presidency, and by many accounts did not reform his life.
To me, with clear exceptions, the Kennedy family has a legacy of many failures - despite the financial resources and fame they’ve enjoyed. The family has also caused a significant amount of pain to many whose paths crossed with theirs.
Roger Mudd was a fine journalist. I think one of his distant relatives, a physician treated John Wilkes Booth’s broken ankle when he was on the run after the assassination of Lincoln. Dr. Mudd was mistreated after that event. Was Roger also abused?