Clinton mourns Ted Kennedy

From left, former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, former first lady Barbara Bush, President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden, Biden’s wife Jill, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, and former President Jimmy Carter attend the funeral service for late U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston on Aug. 29.

In an Aug. 26 statement, Clinton called Kennedy a “dear friend” and said:

I will always treasure the memory of his friendship and the time we spent together, from the Massachusetts waters he loved so much, to the floor of the Senate that will feel empty without his booming voice and broad smile.”

It was a classy statement — to be expected, of course — from a woman who must have felt hurt last year when Kennedy threw his support behind Obama during the Democratic presidential primary.

Kennedy will be remembered mostly for contributions to domestic issues such as health care and education, but Foreign Policy recently highlighted five areas where the late senator defined the U.S. foreign-policy debate.

Photo: BRIAN SNYDER/AFP/Getty Images