POWIP Piece of Work In Progress

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in a poignant acknowledgment of his mortality at a critical time in the national health care debate, has privately asked the governor and legislative leaders to change the succession law to guarantee that Massachusetts will not lack a Senate vote when his seat becomes vacant.

In a personal, sometimes wistful letter sent Tuesday to Governor Deval L. Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, Kennedy asks that Patrick be given authority to appoint someone to the seat temporarily before voters choose a new senator in a special election.

Yes, by all means, Deval Patrick ought to appoint a new Senator for the interim, because he represents so perfectly the interests of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

I certainly am sorry for the man, as I would be for anyone who suffers from inoperable brain cancer, but let's be clear about this: mortality is a subject with which Teddy Kennedy ought to have been grappling for the past 40 years.  There's nothing particularly poignant or wistful about it.

Frankly, I feel about Kennedy much as I do about Warren Buffett, who, having supported Obama and personally profited from information regarding the various government bailouts, now warns us that the national debt is a looming threat.  Thanks for checking out and sticking us with the bill.