Cheers, tears greet fit-looking Kennedy

DENVER — The stool sat unused and unneeded behind the podium, as a vigorous Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) stirred the Democratic faithful with a brief but rousing address on Monday night.

Showing little signs of the brain tumor that required severe cancer treatment, Kennedy made just his second public appearance since his diagnosis in May and whipped the crowd into a frenzy with a trademark speech.

{mosads}“My fellow Democrats, my fellow Americans, it is wonderful to be here. Nothing — nothing — is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight,” Kennedy said. “I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals, and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States.”

The emotional delegation waved signs bearing his name as they chanted, “Teddy, Teddy, Teddy.” Tears were seen on the face of Kennedy’s niece Maria Shriver, wife of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who was sitting in the audience.

The crowd complemented Kennedy’s speech numerous times with loud applause and standing ovations as Democrats paid tribute to one of their biggest heroes, the youngest son of a venerated political dynasty and the champion of the left on issues across the spectrum.

Kennedy’s voice was strong and clear — with a few cracks — and his bearing upright. His hair was thinner and his weight normal. Amid speculation that Monday’s address might be his last, Kennedy was defiant that his years of public service are not over.

“I pledge to you that I will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate,” he said, provoking an explosion of cheers from the assembled delegates and party insiders.

Kennedy made his last public appearance in July when he flew to Washington in secret to cast the deciding vote on a Democratic Medicare bill. His colleagues greeted him warmly then, but he did not speak on the Senate floor and didn’t answer reporters’ questions.

Kennedy’s appearance at the convention this week had been the subject of numerous press reports but the official schedule never listed him, instead slotting a video tribute to the senator introduced by his niece, Caroline Kennedy. As the video played, a cushioned stool was brought out to stage. It stood beside Kennedy, untouched, during his five-minute speech.

The tinge of uncertainly only seemed to increase the crowd’s anticipation. That tension broke with more than a minute of cheering and chanting of his name before he began to speak.

But the so-called Lion of the Senate sought to keep the focus on Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the party’s candidate for president, whom Kennedy endorsed in January.

Kennedy conjured up the spirit of his brother, the late President John F. Kennedy, to praise the Illinois senator.

“And this November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on,” he said, giving tribute to his own famous “dream will never die” speech, made at the 1980 Democratic convention in New York City after a failed bid for the presidency.

Citing the need for health reform, a more cautious approach to military force and the healing of societal rifts on race, gender and sexuality, Kennedy said Obama has the potential to accomplish these goals.

Kennedy’s call for health reform, his signature issue, received one of the biggest reactions from the audience.

“And this is the cause of my life — new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American — north, south, east, west, young, old — will have decent, quality healthcare as a fundamental right and not a privilege,” he said.

“We can meet these challenges with Barack Obama. Yes, we can and, finally, yes, we will,” Kennedy said.

“Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. And we can do it again,” he said, before being embraced by his wife, Vicki, and his children. A rendition of “Still the One” played him off stage.