Profile of Cowardice

This week Barack Obama received what the media called a very important endorsement from Senator Teddy Kennedy, who holds a position of great prominence in the Democratic party. This week Mary Jo Kopechne's mother died. For those of you who do not know who Mary Jo Kopechne was, here are some facts.

Mary Jo was one of six single women who partied with six married men on the night of Friday, July 18, 1969. Teddy Kennedy was one of those six married men. Normally Senator Kennedy was driven everywhere by his chauffer, who was also one of the six married men matched up with the six single women that night. Senator Kennedy decided to drive Mary Jo home. The chauffer protested, but realized that since it was the Senator's car, he had to give him the keys. Senator Kennedy had no valid driver's license. He had three previous tickets for negligent driving or speeding. On July 18 Senator Kennedy had drunk at least the following amounts of alcohol, either admitted to by himself or observed by his companions: six rum and cokes and two Heineken Beers.

Senator Kennedy alleged that he was unfamiliar with the road. However, at the inquest, Judge Boyle concluded that:
"Earlier on July 18, he [Kennedy] had been driven over Chappaquiddick Road three times, and over Dike Road and Dike Bridge twice. Kopechne had been driven over Chappaquiddick Road five times and over Dike Road and Dike Bridge twice".

Kennedy drove his car off the bridge into the water, killing Ms. Kopechne. Kennedy left the scene of the accident, walked by several houses with lights on, and did not report the accident until nine hours later. Richard McLaughlin, the Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles, stated that, "Leaving the scene of an accident and delaying a report for more than nine hours, for all practical purposes foreclosed a drunk driving charge. "It effectively deprives officers of evidence of chemical testing and direct observation of the operator," he said. "So if you wanted to avoid a drunk driving charge after an accident - that's how you do it."

The accident was thoroughly investigated. Kennedy wanted to lie and say the Mary Jo was driving. He tried to persuade the two lawyers who were partying with the single women to lie for him. One of the lawyers repeatedly tried to persuade Kennedy to report the accident truthfully. Kennedy got tired of this, bolted from the car, and dove into the water and started swimming. Before diving into the water, Kennedy promised the two lawyers he would report the accident. He did not. He worked all night on establishing an alibi and intended to maintain that Mary Jo had been driving. He made seventeen long distance phone calls, including one to a stewardess with whom he was having an affair. The next morning two fisherman found the car at 8 a.m.

Massachusetts law required a minimum mandatory 20-day jail term in all cases of leaving the scene of an accident where personal injury had occurred.
Six days later, when Senator Ted Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, he was able to produce a valid driver's license, which he surrendered to the court. Tests later performed on the Senator's license showed absolutely no traces of salt water. Mary Jo Kopechne had survived in the submerged automobile by breathing a pocket of trapped air, and had died by suffocation only after the oxygen had been depleted. Kennedy served not one minute of jail time.

You can read an exhaustive summary of the accident and the cowardly actions of Senator Kennedy here, which is where I got the details presented in this blog post.