About an hour after CNN called it “doubtful,” Ted Kennedy made his first appearance in the Senate since being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor two months ago in order to cast a procedural vote on a Medicare bill.
I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens and that’s to protect Medicare.
Win, lose or draw, I wanted to be here. I wasn’t going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference.
Demonstrating that collegiality in the Senate is not quite dead, he got a standing ovation:
It turned out that his vote wasn’t necessary — cloture was invoked 69-30 — but a similar vote fell one vote short of the needed 60 two weeks ago.
