"Nothing was ever accomplished by a reasonable man."

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-- George Bernard Shaw

Remembrances of Sen. Ted Kennedy have included praise from both political friends and foes about his ability to cut deals -- and praise for his consistent devotion to liberal causes.

By all accounts Kennedy was both fiercely partisan and wonderfully collegial.

Which raises the question: Do we know how to fight right?

We bemoan the loss of civility, and hold up the examples of rivals who could battle each other by day and break bread -- or break open a bottle together -- in the evening.

That's a fine ideal, and a real part of our history, but so is over-the-top partisanship. And it's been a lot worse than town-hall shout downs. Another Kennedy, John, described in "Profiles in Courage" one of Andrew Johnson's experiences as the last southern senator to oppose secession before the Civil War.

"When his train, as he returned home to Tennessee to fight to keep his state in the Union, stopped in Lynchburg, Virginia, an angry mob dragged the Senator from his car, assaulted and abused him, and decided not to lynch him only at the last minute, with the rope already around his neck, when they agreed that hanging him was the privilege of his own neighbors in Tennessee."

Makes MSNBC versus Fox News look like a food fight.

That's messy. But it's not a mob with a rope. And maybe that's our representative democracy -- messy, loud, easily distracted or duped and driven by unreasonable people who eventually force something to be accomplished.

Something tempered by reason. Judging by the testimonials, Sen. Kennedy knew how to temper political passion with reason, knew how to fight and how to compromise. No wonder he'll be missed.

-- Frank Gerjevic

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