"He was a Rabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life, instantly recognizable by his shock of white hair, his florid, oversize face, his booming Boston brogue, his powerful but pained stride. He was a celebrity, sometimes a self-parody, a hearty friend, an implacable foe, a man of large faith and large flaws, a melancholy character who persevered, drank deeply and sang loudly. He was a Kennedy."
U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, dead, on August 25, 2009, of cancer.
NY TIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/us/politics/27kennedy.html?_r=1