Was Eunice Kennedy Shriver the most successful Kennedy?
It was a daughter who started all this. Born into wealth and power, the middle child of nine in this country's version of a royal family, Eunice Kennedy Shriver chose to lobby for the powerless. Yes, she used her connections from time to time. When Iowa's Tom Harkin was a freshman Senator in 1984, he got a political favor from Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy and, sure enough, was visited shortly thereafter by Eunice, who asked for his support for Special Olympics funding. But she never twisted arms or peddled her influence to build her own power base. She used it to help those who were invisible or perceived to be an embarrassment by the population at large.
The results of her efforts speak for themselves, but her son Tim, now the organization's chairman, puts it all in some perspective. "If you look at her brothers and sisters and all that they accomplished," he says, "no one will stand any higher than my mother."
Last year, Sports Illustrated honored Eunice Kennedy Shriver as the first Legacy Sportsman of the Year recipient. This remarkably touching article looks at the person behind the Special Olympics and how her vision drastically changed how people perceive and treat those with disabilities. Well worth the read ... http://www.eunicekennedyshriver.org/bios/si/
