Those of us who live in Massachusetts always had a different relationship with the late Ted Kennedy than did the rest of the country – and, for that matter, the world. Depending on your point of view, Kennedy was either an icon of progressivism or an avatar of evil. What he was not, except to those of us who were fortunate enough to be his constituents, was a regular guy who went about the mundane business of representing his state in the US Senate with diligence, seriousness and joy. For us, Kennedy was not a symbol. He was a real-life human being.

With television broadcasting the debate nationally, Kennedy, obese and haggard, stepped out of his fumble-mouthed persona and wiped up the floor with Romney. Rather than getting lost in a tangle of half-formed thoughts, Kennedy forthrightly portrayed himself as a fighter for universal healthcare, abortion rights and other liberal causes – a pugnacious stance enhanced by the fact that he was, characteristically, bellowing.