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Two weeks ago, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy called his old friend Fritz Hollings as Kennedy drove through the Tidal Basin in the nation’s capital admiring the cherry blossoms.
“He said he was just thinking about me and wanted to know how I was doing,” Hollings said Tuesday, reacting to the news the Massachusetts senator had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Hollings has been a close friend and political ally of the Kennedy family since the 1960s, when he was a young South Carolina governor and John F. Kennedy was running for president.
Hollings said Tuesday that Ted Kennedy is a fighter who will beat the brain tumor if anyone can. He noted Kennedy has beaten the odds before, having survived a 1964 plane crash that killed the pilot and an aide.
Hollings has three paintings by Kennedy, a fellow Democrat, in his house on the Isle of Palms, of flowers and sailboats. And he keeps an autographed photo of Jack, Bobby and Ted Kennedy in his Charleston office.
“Teddy is the most effective senator in my 38 years in the Senate,” Hollings said.
He said many people don’t understand that Kennedy will reach across the political aisle to help others.
“Barry Goldwater and Teddy Kennedy were very close friends,” Hollings said. “You know he took Chief Justice Roberts around before his confirmation.”
Well wishes poured in from South Carolina politicians.
U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, the S.C. Republican who won the seat when Hollings retired in 2004, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Senator Kennedy and his family right now. I have tremendous respect for Senator Kennedy as do all of his colleagues. I wish him a full and speedy recovery.”
House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., said: “I hope that the indomitable spirit that has carried him through so many tough battles during his life will continue to serve him well.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said: “Senator Kennedy is a tough guy and my money is on Ted when it comes to recovering. He’s a worthy adversary and at times, someone you can do business with. He’s a man of his word. I’m very much hoping for a speedy recovery and praying for him and his family.”
Reach Hammond at (803) 771-8474.
