ABC News? Rick Klein reports:

President Obama's old campaign arm is pressing to change Massachusetts law to allow a temporary appointment to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat.

In an e-mail to supporters today, John Spears, Massachusetts state director for Organizing for America, cites President Obama's speech last night to make the case that the state should have full Senate representation, with key votes looming on health care and other issues.

“Last night, President Obama strongly laid out the case for why we so urgently need health reform, and he mentioned a letter Sen. Kennedy wrote to him before his death,” Spears writes.

“But right now, under current Massachusetts law, Sen. Kennedy's seat will remain vacant until January — depriving us of full representation in the Senate and depriving the country of a needed vote in favor of real health reform,” he continues. “So we need to make sure that Gov. Patrick can appoint an interim senator until a special election can be held.”

The e-mail urges recipients to contact their state senators and state representatives, and provides a link with contact information for those lawmakers.

The state legislature stripped the governor of the power to fill Senate vacancies in 2004, when Democrats feared that then-Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., would fill Sen. John Kerry's, D-Mass., seat with a Republican, if Kerry had been elected president.

Now, however, with the special election not scheduled until January, Democrats want to reclaim their 60th Senate seat as soon as possible. Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., is supporting a bill that would allow him to appoint an interim successor, and Kerry testified on behalf of the bill yesterday at the State House in Boston.

ABC News? Rick Klein reports:

With Democrats seeking to use Sen. Ted Kennedy's passing to refocus efforts to pass health care reform, Republicans are signaling that their strong opposition to President Obama's plans haven't shifted.

Today on ABCNews.com's “Top Line,” Sen. John Barrasso, one of the Senate's two medical doctors, called Kennedy's death “a great loss,” but not something that has changed the political dynamics surrounding health care.

“It is a loss to the nation, but I will tell you, people are actually focused on what's in the health care bill — that's what's turning out at all of these town hall meetings,” said Barrasso, R-Wyo.

“What I'm hearing all across the country is 'kill the bill,' ” he said. “So when Nancy Pelosi and others may say that this is a contrived — these are contrived events, she may be saying that just to try to lessen the effect of them. These are hard working American people who are turning out, have great concerns about what the government is trying to do in terms of health care and taking over health care. There is opposition very loudly spoken all across the country to this. And if people don't realize that this is real, then I'd have to say Nancy Pelosi is absolutely out of touch with the rest of America.”

Barrasso has been traveling the country along with the Senate's other doctor, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., livestreaming the “Senate Doctors Show” and hosting town hall meetings on health care.

“People are focused on the details of the bill,” Barrasso told us. “I held up the House bill at a town meeting in Wyoming, and somebody yelled, 'burn it' because they know what the details are, then held up the Senate bill, all of the loose leaf papers that are together in that and somebody else said, 'Start a bonfire.' “

Click HERE to see the interview with Sen. Barrasso.

We also checked in with ABC's George Stephanopoulos about the political fallout in the wake of Kennedy's passing. He agreed with Barrasso's take, that the warm remembrances of Kennedy haven't changed the politics of health care.

Stephanopoulos' show this Sunday will be heavy on Kennedy legacy, with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, reflecting on their friend and long-time colleague.

Click HERE to see the interview with George Stephanopoulos.

We?re live-streaming today’s ABC NewsNOW coverage of the ?Celebration of Life Memorial Service? honoring Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, hosted by Rick Klein and David Chalian, with Colbert King of The Washington Post, plus ABC’s Sam Donaldson.

Coverage resumes around 5:45 pmET. You can watch HERE.

And follow the coverage via Twitter, @thenote.

By RICK KLEIN

What would Teddy do?

That depends on which lessons one might draw from the life and career of Sen. Ted Kennedy, here in this brief period where his passing has allowed a rare moment of reflection in the debate he never saw come to a close.

There?s Kennedy the deal-maker, the one whom Republicans are pining for now, and who always wished he?d taken a half-measure on universal health coverage back when he had that fleeting chance.

And there?s Kennedy the true-believer, the man whom liberals are, well, lionizing as they fight to preserve a health care reform bill they think Kennedy himself would have proudly championed.

It?s these aspects of the towering Kennedy legacy — neither less true than the other — that now shape the health care debate.

As that sorts itself out, three days of services and ceremonies start Thursday.

After a noon ET private family Mass, the motorcade carrying the senator?s remains will leave the Kennedy compound around 1 pm ET. In Boston, it will pass some landmarks of his life — through the North End, the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and past Faneuil Hall and the State House — before arriving at the John F. Kennedy Library around 4 pm.

Friday is for public viewing an evening memorial service. President Obama will speak at the funeral Saturday in Boston, before Kennedy reaches his final resting place, alongside his brothers at Arlington National Cemetery.

In remembering a life and a legacy, that unfinished piece looms large:

?Edward M. Kennedy filled two seemingly contradictory roles during his years in the Senate: He was known as the chamber?s most liberal member and as the Democrat with an uncanny ability to reach across to conservative Republicans and reach compromises,? Michael Kranish and Lisa Wangsness report in The Boston Globe. ?The question is whether Kennedy?s death paradoxically might shift power farther to the left as other Democrats seek to solidify their base.?

?The death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy has quickly become a rallying point for Democratic advocates of a broad health care overhaul, a signature Kennedy issue that became mired in partisanship while he fought his illness away from the Capitol,? Carl Hulse and Katharine Q. Seelye report in The New York Times.

?It seemed unlikely that Republicans would suddenly soften their firm opposition in the aftermath of Mr. Kennedy?s death or that Democrats would relent on their push for substantial change, especially for a government-run insurance plan, which Mr. Kennedy endorsed.?

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to ABC?s Diane Sawyer on ?Good Morning America? Thursday: ?I would hope that his example of working together, coming together in the spirit of compromise, for the sake and the good of the American people, would have some effect.?

Can it be both of these things? ?Some lawmakers said Tuesday the current stalemate is the result of Kennedy’s absence for the past few, crucial months. Some hope to rescue the embattled legislation as his legacy,? the AP?s Laurie Kellman reports.

The health care debate is missing a key player, but has a key source of inspiration.

?You’ve heard of ‘win one for the Gipper’? There is going to be an atmosphere of ‘win one for Teddy,’ ? Ralph G. Neas, the CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, told ABC?s Teddy Davis.

Davis reports: ?Democratic officials hope that invoking Kennedy’s passion for the issue will counter slippage in support for health care reform. . . . To infuse Kennedy into the health-care debate, Democrats are planning to affix the former senator’s name to the health-care legislation that emerges from Congress.?

Politico?s Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin: ?Kennedy’s death will frame the central struggle of Obama’s young presidency, the charge to drive health care legislation through the Senate. The loss of his vote and his deal-making prowess are a profound blow to the bill’s prospects, but his allies hope his memory will carry it through.?

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.: ?If temperatures can cool, maybe Teddy’s passing will remind people that we’re there to get a job done.?

?Will Sen. Edward Kennedy’s death be the catalyst for finally achieving what he called the cause of his life, health care for all?? Jill Lawrence writes for Politics Daily. ?There are some differences even Kennedy wouldn’t have been able to bridge. At this juncture, with a strong ally in the White House and Democratic majorities in Congress, maybe he wouldn’t have been inclined to.?

No one will pick up this mantle: ?Throughout, there never has been a politician who brought more of that rare combination of commitment, passion and exuberance to the profession; he loved politics and understood better than anyone that it?s a human business,? Bloomberg?s Al Hunt recalls. ?That?s why he was the best.?

?The loss of Sen. Ted Kennedy to brain cancer has produced an outpouring of praise and affection from across the political spectrum — a reaction that in its own way only raises a profound question: Where have all the deal makers like him gone?? Gerald F. Seib writes in his Wall Street Journal column.

Regarding the missteps, ?He did more than outlive them — he made up for them. Teddy Kennedy constantly improved. Teddy Kennedy constantly got better,? Vice President Joe Biden told ABC?s Chris Cuomo, on ?Good Morning America? Thursday. ?He was one hell of a man.?

What might be critical, depending on the deal that?s cut: ?There is no Democrat — not even President Obama — who commands so much automatic respect on the party’s left,? Doyle MacManus writes for the Los Angeles Times.

?The biggest impact of Kennedy’s death . . . could be on his fellow Democrats who are divided over whether to create a public option to compete with private insurance, expand regional health insurance cooperatives, resist both because of concerns about spending and the impact on the private sector or hold out for a single-payer system that Obama himself doesn’t support,? McClatchy?s David Lightman and Margaret Talev write.

Maybe getting through this period of Kennedy nostalgia during recess is the best timing Republicans could imagine.

?When the veteran lawmaker died Tuesday night of brain cancer, the cause he long championed stood at a dangerous crossroads,? The Washington Post?s Shailagh Murray reports. ?With Congress’s August recess nearing its end, the window is closing for opponents of a health-care overhaul to further undercut its public support before lawmakers resume working on the bill. Meanwhile, Kennedy’s memorial services and burial are likely to draw more public attention to his political career, and to the issues he held dear — including universal health insurance, which he once called ?the cause of my life.? ?

Then there?s math: ?Democrats quickly tried to turn the death of Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy into a new spur for their stalled health-care overhaul effort. But the liberal icon’s passing could as well hobble the campaign, by depriving the majority party of a key vote at a critical juncture in the debate,? Neil King Jr. and Jonathan Weisman write in The Wall Street Journal.

When you have majorities like these, sometimes you get to make your own math.

?Governor Deval L. Patrick, breaking his silence on the future of Edward M. Kennedy?s Senate seat, yesterday embraced Kennedy?s request that the governor be given the power to appoint someone to the seat until voters can choose a permanent successor in a special election,? Frank Phillips reports in The Boston Globe. ?Patrick?s public statements add to growing momentum for Kennedy?s plea, which he made last week in a poignant letter to the governor and legislative leaders.?

?I’d like the Legislature to take up the bill quickly and get it to my desk and I will sign it,? Patrick told the Globe.

On succession: ?The race in the heavily Democratic state will be a five-month sprint that may pit some of the Bay State’s most prominent politicians and political families against each other.?

ABC?s George Stephanopoulos, on ?Good Morning America? Thursday: ?Vicki Kennedy has really ruled herself out.? Former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, D-Mass., ?hasn?t completely ruled out going for this seat.?

The last Kennedy? Per ABC?s Troy McMullen: ?The death of Edward Kennedy late Tuesday after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died two weeks earlier after suffering a series of strokes in recent years, leaves just one remaining child born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy: Jean Kennedy Smith. The 81-year-old former ambassador to Ireland has long maintained a much lower profile than some other members of the extended Kennedy family. She skipped the funeral mass for her sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver to stay with her ailing brother, and has been seen in public very little in recent years.?

Kind of a ridiculous day to try to break through with this maneuver: ?Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday he won?t be ?railroaded? out of office, rejecting the latest request that he resign. Sanford spoke after Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer became the highest ranking Republican to ask the embattled GOP governor to quit,? The State?s Gina Smith and John O?Connor report.

Final cease-fire in the card-check wars? ?We have too many other things on our plate,? Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, per Jennifer Robison of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

This sound familiar? ?Organizers of an Anchorage event that has been billing Sarah Palin for weeks as a star speaker were left scrambling Wednesday after learning that the former governor won’t be there for tonight’s event and claims to have never been asked,? Sean Cockerham and Erika Bolstad write for The Anchorage Daily News. ?It would be at least the fourth time in recent months that an anticipated Palin speech has fallen through after Palin and her camp disputed they had ever confirmed it.?

?This is the first we have ever heard of a speech,? said Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton.

The Kicker:

?The truth is he had expressed to his family that he did want to go, he did want to go to Heaven. . . . There was a certain peace there that was absolutely beautiful. It’s what life is all about and you would envy that kind of peace.? — Rev. Patrick Tarrant, to ABC affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston, on Sen. Kennedy?s final moments at his bedside.

?We will never see the likes of him again.? — Vice President Joe Biden, tearing up in remembrance.

For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note?s blog . . . all day every day:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/

ABC News? Lindsey Ellerson and Rick Klein report: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told Diane Sawyer on ?Good Morning America? Thursday that he is considering complying with Sen. Ted Kennedy?s dying wish to appoint a temporary successor to the Liberal Lion?s Senate seat, calling it a ?reasonable request.?

“I think that the senator?s made a very reasonable request,? said Patrick. ?I support the idea of a special election which is provided for in our current law and the senator did as well. Now, having said that, I have to say that our first thoughts today are on the life and the extraordinary achievements of the senator.?

Under current Massachusetts law, Kennedy?s Senate seat would remain unoccupied until at least mid-January, at which point a special election to fill the position would be held. However, a push is underway to change the law and allow the governor to make an interim appointment.

The provision was instituted five years ago because of a legal change Democrats forced through to deny then-Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, the opportunity to choose a successor to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., if he had won the 2004 presidency.

When asked about a potential Senate successor and whether Patrick would like to see a member of the Kennedy clan claim the seat, the governor refused to bite.

“Those are very personal decisions and you know, we?ve got such a, so much political talent in Massachusetts and have historically in the family and beyond,? said Patrick. ?I know there?s a lot of interest in this, in this seat, but again I think almost everybody who is interested in this seat and beyond is focused mainly right now on grieving the loss of a giant.”

Possible candidates for the seat include Kennedy's widow, Vicki; the senator's nephew, Joe; Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., whose late husband once held Massachusetts' other Senate seat; the state's popular attorney general, Martha Coakley; and several veteran House members who've been waiting years or even decades for a chance to advance politically.

In addition to the vacuum Kennedy will leave in the political landscape of the country, Patrick reflected on the loss of a man with great character.

“There?s this extraordinary combination of larger than life personality and political accomplishments and a very down to earth quality,? said Patrick of the senator.

Kennedy was not afraid to ham it up. Many a time his singing voice was caught on tape, with his colleague Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on the campaign trail in 1994, alongside then-first lady Hillary Clinton, and most recently on the stump with then-Sen. Barack Obama. Patrick remembers Kennedy, ?late into the night over the dinner table singing show tunes or the impersonations that he would do of his colleagues in the Senate or in public life, which were absolutely hysterical if you got him at the right moment.”

The Massachusetts governor first met Kennedy at the beginning of the Clinton administration when he was a finalist candidate for the U.S. attorney.

?I remember saying to him at the time that I didn?t expect to get the appointment, but that I knew that the path for me to be in that conversation was largely paved by his work and the life of his brothers, and I felt that and believed it,? said Patrick.

Kennedy?s legislative legacy has been widely recognized, but Patrick says it?s his ?tenacity? that is most admirable.

“Tenacity, you know, it?s not just any one of the extraordinary legislative outcomes in health care, in civil and human rights, in worker rights and disability rights and so forth and the minimum wage, it?s his commitment to the idea that as good as we are in America, we can be better,? said the governor. ?That vision of a better America was enough to keep him coming back over and over and over again to push that agenda forward and we are all, all of us the better for it.”

ABC News’ Huma Khan reports: He may have been the Senate?s ?liberal lion,? but Ted Kennedy?s friends included a long line of Republicans on the extreme end of the political aisle.

?We were like fighting brothers for all these years…. We always made up at the end, we always laughed about it afterwards and hug each other but I have to admit the first few years were really really rough,? said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. ?Even though we fought over all kinds of language, all kinds of approaches towards legislation, we worked it out.?

The two, who became good friends despite their disagreements, came together many times over music. When Kennedy and Hatch couldn?t agree on an issue, the late senator sent his aides to sing to his staunchly conservative friend. And in his memory, the Republican senator penned a song Wednesday as a tribute toKennedy. It wasn?t the first. Hatch said on ?Good Morning America? that he wrote a song called ?Souls Along the Way?– featured in the movie Ocean?s 13 — when Kennedy married his wife, Vicki, in 1992.

?I just feel deeply towards the man,? Hatch said. ?Through those fights we honed legislation that has really become landmark legislation.?

“He was one heck of a legislator, one heck of a friend,? he added.

Despite their ideological differences, Hatch said he could always count on Kennedy once they made a deal and that the Massachusetts senator was always open to compromise.

?Many times he would come across the center, and I?d have to go to the center,? Hatch added. ?We passed almost every important health care bill in the last 33 years.?

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who knew Kennedy for a quarter century, said the image that will ingrained in him is that of a ?happy warrior? on the Senate floor.

?Many times there was no need for the microphone system, we all heard him very clearly,? McCain recalled. ?As soon as his passion was subsided, which would be after he finished speaking, he returned to the gregarious and friendly individual that he was. Ted Kennedy?s word was his bond… that?s not as true as some might believe about the United States Senate.?

Kennedy was praised by many for his bipartisan work, and McCain said he hopes the health care debate will create a ?spirit of compromise? going forward.

?I feel a personal responsibility to try to conduct myself the way that Ted Kennedy did on a broad variety of issues, and that is to be willing to sit down and work with the other side of the aisle,? McCain said on ?GMA.? ?Whether he won or lost he was always in the game.?

McCain willgive a eulogyat Kennedy?s memorial service on Friday. The former presidential candidate said he doesn?t know yet what he?ll say but that ?I just hope I can do him justice or some measure of justice.?

ABC News' David Chalian Reports:

Much has been written about Sen. Kennedy?s reach across the political aisle. One of his closest friends on the Republican side of that aisle, Sen. Orrin Hatch, posted a song he wrote as a tribute to Sen. Kennedy on his YouTube page today. Watch the song HERE.

Sen. Hatch?s affinity for songwriting and singing is well known in the United States Senate. Kennedy biographers have noted that Sen. Kennedy used that to his advantage from time to time. The Massachusetts Senator famously brought one of his aides, Nick Littlefield, with him to Sen. Hatch?s office to sing to the Utah Republican when they were in negotiations over a piece of legislation.

?Just honor him, honor him, and every fear will be a thing of the past,? Sen. Hatch writes his tribute song ?Headed Home.?

Sen. Hatch is also one of the senators who have taken a liking to Twitter this year which is where he shared some commemorative thoughts. ?Although Ted and I fought over politics most of the time, he was a passionate man who dedicated his life to public service. . . and did a lot of good for a lot of people,? tweeted Hatch.

Sen. Hatch wrote this on his YouTube page: ?Here is a stirring tribute song to my good friend, Senator Ted Kennedy called 'Headed Home.' I wrote this song with the great Phil Springer. Take a moment to listen to the words. You don't have to agree with everyone's politics. . . none of us agree 100% of the time. But you have to admire a lifetime dedicated to public service and improving the lives of others — and that is just one of the many things that made Ted great. I think this song captures a small part of Ted's legacy of service. Listen to it and see what you think.?

You can read the lyrics to ?Headed Home? here:

Through the darkness
We can find a pathway
That will take us half way
To the stars.

Through the rain and fog
We can find a clear day
Shoo the shadows and doubts away
And touch the legacy that is ours.

Yours and mine
And our children's
For all time.

Just honor him
Honor him
And every fear
Will be a thing of the past.

America, America
We're headed home
We're headed home
At last.

Just honor him
Honor him
And on the reefs of despair
We shall not crash.

America
America
We're sailing home
Sailing home
America
America
We're headed home
Headed home
At last.

By RICK KLEIN

The work goes on, of course. His cause endures. And as the political world stands still, get ready to dream again.

It?s a world that?s not shocked, yet immensely saddened by the loss of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — a towering figure in every way, a source of compassion, and a figure of determination to generations.

He embodied a generosity of spirit that indeed will never die. Just as Kennedy represented a figure and a family out of the nation?s past, his aspirations always looked to the future.

And so, in the great piece of unfinished business in a legacy of nearly five decades, inspiration is renewed in his passing.

Universal health care is President Obama?s great quest this year, but it will be Kennedy?s bill — in spirit, in inspiration, and almost certainly, now, in name.

And if it gets done — as Kennedy famously promised a year to the day before his death, in opening the convention where Obama received the Democratic nomination — it will be because of Kennedy?s example, as a legislator, as a dealmaker, and as a friend.

President Obama, who spoke with Kennedy?s wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, at about 2:25 am ET Wednesday, a few hours after the senator?s death, said he and Michelle were ?heartbroken.? (Look for an on-camera statement later this morning.)

?I valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the Presidency. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I've profited as President from his encouragement and wisdom,? the president said in a statement.

?An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time.?

There would be no President Obama without Sen. Kennedy — not just because of the well-timed endorsement that brought a political dynasty behind an upstart?s campaign, but because of the work of decades that made a candidacy like Obama?s possible in the first place.

And, even acknowledging the precarious legislative state of play, the cause of health care reform wouldn?t be as close to happening as it is now without Kennedy?s work spanning decades.

The Kennedy family statement: ?We?ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. . . . He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it?s hard to imagine any of them without him.?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., puts a prediction inside a tribute: ?Ted Kennedy?s dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration.?

New inspiration from a well-known legacy: ?The fact that his tangible accomplishments transcended his mythic role in the Kennedy drama attests to the vast extent of his legislative impact. In each of four areas, he dominated legislative politics for more than four decades, spanning ten presidencies, and played a large role in transforming the government?s relationship to the people,? Peter S. Canellos writes in The Boston Globe.

?And by the time his life ended yesterday, surrounded by loved ones in a gentle scene that contrasted sharply with the violent deaths of his brothers, Ted Kennedy had built a nuts-and-bolts legacy to stand beside that of his presidential brother as a figure of hope and his senatorial brother as a figure of compassion.?

A final lesson that?s never been more relevant: ?Generations of aides recall Kennedy telling them the biggest mistake of his career was turning down a deal that President Richard M. Nixon offered for universal health care. It seemed not generous enough at the time. Having missed the opportunity then, Kennedy spent the rest of his career hoping for an elusive second chance,? the AP?s David Espo writes.

?Now, some Democrats wonder privately if the party can learn from that lesson, and take what is achievable rather than risk everything by reaching for what it uncertain.?

?Mr. Kennedy died with one of his lifelong goals, universal health care, tantalizingly within reach yet struggling on Capitol Hill. Some advocates have said his absence has hurt the chances for legislation, and hope Mr. Kennedy's passing will give new momentum and emotional force to his favored cause,? Naftali Bendavid writes in The Wall Street Journal.

Heir to Camelot: ?The arc between their careers was striking. Obama was born just a year before Kennedy came to the Senate in November 1962, and the younger man?s election as president marked an historic fulfillment of the civil rights debate in which Kennedy took part as a freshman lawmaker,? Politico?s David Rogers writes.

This year, ?Republicans complained that without Kennedy, Democrats were less willing to make the concessions needed for true compromise. As Senate action stalled before the August recess — and the national debate swung wildly at the grassroots level — Kennedy?s absence was felt more sharply. This was one of the great ironies of the senator?s career.?

?No lawmaker was more closely identified with the issue that President Obama has made his top legislative priority than Kennedy, who began pushing for universal health care in the 1970s,? USA Today?s Kathy Kiely writes. ?In losing Kennedy, Obama loses a key Senate dealmaker at a crucial moment in legislative negotiations over the health care bill.?

?He's always seen politics as the way grease is supplied to our system to make it work,? former Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant tells ABC?s Huma Khan and Caitlin Taylor.

(ABCNews.com?s full coverage, on the Kennedy legacy, personal history, plus video and slideshows, is here.)

Kennedy?s passing leaves a gaping hole in the party?s liberal wing; if there?s a sour deal to swallow in Congress, Kennedy would have been the one to make it sweeter.

?As the standard-bearer for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, the square-jawed ?Ted? or ?Teddy? Kennedy believed in government's ability to help solve people's problems, and over the decades he learned how to wield power in the Senate to move the government in that direction,? Rich Simon and Claudia Luther write for the Los Angeles Times.

John M. Broder, in The New York Times: ?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.?

From Kennedy?s final major public statement — the cover story he wrote for Newsweek last month with Robert Shrum (the author of the ?dream shall never die? speech): ?Each time I've made a phone call or held a meeting about the health bill — or even when I've had the opportunity to get out for a sail along the Massachusetts coast — I've thought in an even more powerful way than before about what this will mean to others. And I am resolved to see to it this year that we create a system to ensure that someday, when there is a cure for the disease I now have, no American who needs it will be denied it.?

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.: ?He taught us how to fight, how to laugh, how to treat each other, and how to turn idealism into action, and in these last fourteen months he taught us much more about how to live life, sailing into the wind one last time.?

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah: ?Today America lost a great elder statesman, a committed public servant, and leader of the Senate. . . . Many have come before, and many will come after, but Ted Kennedy?s name will always be remembered as someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate and the work completed within its chamber.?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.: ?As we mourn his loss, we rededicate ourselves to the causes for which he so dutifully dedicated his life. Senator Kennedy?s legacy stands with the greatest, the most devoted, the most patriotic men and women to ever serve in these halls.?

From the office of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.: ?Senator McCain is very saddened to hear the news of the loss of this close and dear friend, Senator Kennedy — the last lion of the Senate.?

Former Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, via Facebook: ?I would like to extend our sympathies to the Kennedy family as we hear word about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. He believed in our country and fought passionately for his convictions.?

Former President Jimmy Carter, to the BBC: ?My own hope here is that his deep commitment to comprehensive health plan in our country will be honored by his contemporaries and his peers in the near future.?

Torch-carrying: ?Sooner or later, every political dynasty faces this question: Who are we now?? The Boston Globe?s Don Aucoin writes. ?With the death of its patriarch, that moment has arrived for the Kennedy family. And so a clan that, no less than the Adamses, the Roosevelts, and the Bushes, has been defined by the public offices it held must set a future course without the compass and standard-bearer for its political tradition, Senator Edward M. Kennedy.?

In Massachusetts, look for a renewed push to change the law to allow Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., to name an interim replacement.

Regardless, though, a special election is likely shortly after the first of the year. Those named Kennedy — Vicki and Joseph P. Kennedy II — won?t quite get right of first refusal, but the potential for a Kennedy candidacy will freeze out others on the long list of those interested.

The Kicker:

?We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.? — Edward M. Kennedy, in December 2008.

?Those of us who loved him and who take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us, and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for all the world.? — Edward M. Kennedy, eulogizing his brother, Robert, in 1968.

For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note?s blog . . . all day every day:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/

Eunice Kennedy Shriver in Critical Condition

ABC News' Huma Khan reports: Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of former President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., is in critical condition at a Massachusetts hospital.

A family spokesperson said Shriver is surrounded by her family at Cape Cod Hospital, according to The Associated Press.

Shriver, 88,helped establish the Special Olympics 41 years ago and in 1984, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work.

Reid causes stir over Kennedy’s health

ABC News’ Z. Byron Wolf reports:

At his weekly press conference today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was asked about Sen. Kennedy’s condition and a minor stir ensued.

Here’s the transcript of what Reid said:

QUESTION: The latest on Senator Kennedy’s health?

REID: Yes, I had a conversation with Mrs. Kennedy in the last couple of days. He’s doing fine. He’s going through another regimen of treatment which he is not unusual. This is something that was expected. He wanted to have the treatment next week. They had to move it up a week, as I understand it.

QUESTION: His cancer is in remission as far as you know?

REID: As far as I know it is, yes.

It was a loud room and Reid may have misunderstood the question. But the exchange was taken by some outletsas a declaration that Kennedy’s condition has improved.

Kennedy’s office, as a matter of policy, does not comment on his treatment or daily condition. But its unclear that there has been any change to warrant the label “remission” being applied to his brain cancer.

UPDATE: FROM SENATOR REID’S PRESS OFFICE: “Senator Reid will leave the diagnosing to doctors. But he does look forward to the prospect of Senator Kennedy’s return to the Senate as soon as he is able.”

–Z. Byron Wolf