NBC News and The Denver Post are reporting that Sen. Ted Kennedy, fresh off radiation treatment and chemotherapy for a malignant brain tumor, has arrived in Denver and may be preparing to making a personal appearance at the Democratic National Convention tonight.

As I noted in the previous blog, the schedule calls for Kennedy to make some videotaped remarks following a tribute from his niece, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. If Kennedy himself shows up, it would certainly be an emotional moment. This is all going to happen sometime around 6:30 p.m. West Coast time.

I know Ted Kennedy triggers mixed emotions among people. But I’m reminded of a refreshing piece we ran on May 27 from conservative columnist Cal Thomas in which he acknowledged a longtime friendship and respect for Kennedy, one that began in 1983 with Kennedy’s surprise acceptance of an invitation to speak at Liberty Baptist College (now Liberty University), a school founded by the late Jerry Falwell.

Thomas ended the column like this, “I came to see Sen. Kennedy not as a symbol, but as a fellow human being who does not get up in the morning seeking ways to harm the country. I know of things he has done for the poor and homeless on his own time and in his own way without a press release or a desire for public approval. I know of other hurts and concerns about which I would never speak.
“In our poisoned political atmosphere, there are few friendships like this, at least few anyone can speak of publicly for fear of political ruin. It ought to be a privilege (it is certainly a command) for my conservative Christian friends to pray for Sen. Kennedy that he might be healed and restored to health. It is certainly mine and I don’t care who on ‘my side’ knows it.”

– Paul Gullixson