The New Republic's Sean Wilentz [2] reflects on Kennedy's political durability and tenacity:

The sadness, the squandering, the might-have-beens of his life would have crushed others, but Kennedy endured, his principles intact. Of him, it could be written, in Yeats's words, that "[b]eing Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy".

The New York Times's Sarah Wheaton [3] discusses the complex process for electing a successor to Kennedy. In 2004 Massachusetts law was amended to prevent the state governor appointing a temporary replacement and the wait for a special election may hinder the Democrats' attempts to muster the necessary votes for health-care reform.

When Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, was running for president in 2004, the Democratic-controlled state legislature wanted to deny the governor at the time -- Mitt Romney, a Republican -- the power to name a successor if Mr Kerry won. The resulting law requires a special election within 145 to 160 days after the vacancy occurs.

The Guardian's Michael White [4] argues that Kennedy represented the "redemptive power of American life" despite his dark side:

I remain a stubborn believer in the redemptive capacity of American public life. Health-care reform, the parallel battle over climate change, the unravelling of the Bush administration's torture policies . . . It is currently very tough, but this is also evidence of the United States's enduring ability to repair its own mistakes.

Ted Kennedy was born to privilege and screwed it up. But he went a long way towards repaying his debts.

Steve Clemons [5] writes in the Huffington Post that Kennedy was the "last lion" of the United States Senate:

Senator Kennedy's political franchise had no rival in the legislative branch of government, and the youngest brother of the Kennedy political trio may very well have been the very best "Executive Legislator" this country has ever seen.

Over at Salon, Joan Walsh [6] rebukes Senator Orrin Hatch for suggesting that Kennedy would have sponsored a bipartisan health-care bill:

That's completely dishonest. If Kennedy moved hearts and minds in the Senate, it would be by moving Republicans towards sanity. Since I don't believe Republicans have any interest in bipartisan compromise, a healthy Ted Kennedy would be kicking Republican asses.