Kennedy speaking last August at his father's funeral in Boston.
It was the death last year of his father, Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy, that led to his decision not to seek re-election this coming fall, says Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island.
Rhode Island Monthly's upcoming cover story explores the younger Kennedy's life and his reasons for stepping away — at least temporarily — from politics. It writes that:
He buried his father in August. He attended tributes throughout the fall. Then finally at Christmas, Patrick Kennedy took some time alone to think. "It's pretty simple in this respect: I went through something that caused me a great deal of soul searching and self-reflection. Right now, a personal life is of greater value. Emotional connections that are real and loving and personal just trump everything else."
Check with our colleague Ken Rudin at Political Junkie for more on Kennedy's decision and the significance of the news that for the first time since the 1950s there won't be a Kennedy in a position of influence in Washington.
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