A liberal lion, champion of health care and employee rights, roars his last

Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the Liberal Lion of the Senate, died late Tuesday at 77. The last living son of Joseph and Rose Kennedy was the second-longest sitting member of the Senate, and the third-longest seated in American history.

During his 47-year Senate career, he weathered scandals and tragedies, surviving notorious setbacks that would have ruined most politicians. In the process, he established a reputation for strong liberal principles, even as he became famous for his willingness to work with political opponents. And nowhere was this more visible than in his attention to the American worker.