This is third-hand and possibly apocryphal, but an acquaintance from a big Dem donor family with ties to a longtime senator told me that Ted Kennedy was really little more than place-holding rubber stamp for various staffers and "advisors" of the worst sort, and that he'd have signed his own commitment papers if some aide had handed them to him right before happy hour. The "hired help" had become the "boss." It seemed dismally plausible.
Mr. niteowl77
Supreme Court Justice’s clerks are also far more influential than most assume.