Profile in Brinkmanship

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But the cost of victory was mounting. Virtually every Senator pledged to Morrissey's cause seemed increasingly embarrassed. Leverett Saltonstall, Teddy's senior colleague from Massachusetts, unhappily announced that he had changed his position from "no objection" to one favoring recommittal. Staunch Democratic allies of the Kennedys, notably Joseph Tydings of Maryland and Pennsylvania's Joseph Clark, warned that in all conscience they might have to vote no. As one Democratic skeptic put it: "If they vote for this guy, how can they keep the political hacks in their own states off their necks?"

Retreat from Embarrassment. Faced finally with a choice between inglorious victory and unpalatable defeat, Ted Kennedy went all the way to the brink —and chose defeat. Though virtually none of his colleagues knew of his decision in advance, he notified President Johnson of his switch the night before the Senate showdown. He also tipped off Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, whose forces had become reasonably confident that they could scuttle Morrissey's nomination. After crossing the Senate floor to give Teddy an avuncular handclasp, old Ev rumbled: "It takes something for a young man to subdue his pride. It doesn't bother an old bastard like me. But in a young man it takes courage."

Dirksen's plaudits, echoed by Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, reflected Senate sentiment. By the club's unwritten rules, a member's political imprudence is tolerable, even understandable —but only so long as it does not inconvenience his colleagues. Thus in the Senate's memory, Teddy's ill-advised efforts for an ill-equipped judicial nominee may be largely forgotten—while his retreat from the brink of embarrassment will be warmly remembered as an act of high courage. Outside the Senate, which is not likely to confine Teddy Kennedy's ambitions indefinitely, the Morrissey affair may be remembered as a negative entry in the record book of a clan that made great capital of the pursuit of excellence.