Back to Kennedy.
I can't hear him speak, especially in such a condescending and morally superior manner that I don't think about Chappaquiddick Island. If you take a moment and read (or listen to) his speech after he left Mary Jo Kopechne to die in his submerged car on Chappaquiddick Island you might find yourself questioning how he can shamelessly expressing concern over anyones morality, honestly or personal courage. By his own statement, he and his family had participated in the sailing event on the island for 30 years, yet he accidentally drove off the bridge because it was dark and the bridge has an odd angle to it. He's 30 years familiar with the island, yet not familiar enough to navigate the roadways. He was comforting Ms. Kopechne and other Kennedy campaign secretaries because they were so upset over the death of Robert Kennedy. That's all. Nothing more. His wife would have been there, but she wasn't feeling well. And, he adds, he doesn't like the fact that people implied he might have been driving drunk or conducting himself in an immoral manner! He had been at the party and had simply been comforting these 'girls' and was simply giving Mary Jo Kopechne a ride. His conduct and statements over the few hours after he allowed Ms. Kopechne to drown in his car is simply inexplicable. He says he can't explain it because he doesn't remember it. His doctors told him it was shock. Yet, he can tell us how he felt as the water rushed into the car, how he got to the surface and how he repeatedly dove down to try to rescue Ms. Kopechne until he thought he would drown again. He remembers clearly going back to the party and getting his kin folk to come help him. The only reason he told them not to tell anyone else was because he didn't want to scare the other 'girls' who were friends of Ms. Kopechne. His only concern was for them. He had been much too exhausted to rescue the 'girl' he was escorting, but for some unexplicable reason, he dove back into the water, swam across and went to his hotel and slept till the next morning. The next morning he called his family attorney who convinced him to report the accident. That all makes perfect sense, doesn't it? If he says it, it must be true. The one thing in the speech that rang true, he said:
I suppose posts like this are what will remain with him the rest of his life.This last week has been an agonizing one for me and for the members of my family, and the grief we feel over the loss of a wonderful friend will remain with us the rest of our lives.
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