Legal Commentary

Arlington: Laying Senator Edward Kennedy to Rest

By Jeralyn

6:00 pm ET: A large crowd of staffers and others is assembled at the Capitol awaiting the casket of Senator Edward Kennedy which is en route from Andrews Air Force Base. The procession will drive around the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol and then proceed to Arlington, where Senator Kennedy will be laid to rest.

ABC News reports there are 900 staff on the steps and 4,000 in the plaza and lining Constitution Ave. You can follow on Twitter here.

The official Edward M. Kennedy page with updates is here.

6:10 pm: Motorcade is 2 miles away. Further updates below: 6:30 pm: Brief prayer outside the steps of the Capitol. Vicki Kennedy is there.

7:30 p.m.: The hearse is arriving at Arlington. Joe Biden is there. The family is now arriving. The Honor Guard is waiting.

The cable yakkers are just ruining it. Can they not watch in silence?

7:55 p.m.: The Casket Guard is taking the casket out of the hearse. The sun has already set. They are proceeding with it in silence. Vicki Kennedy, escorted by her brother, Patrick Kennedy and Jean Kennedy Smith are right behind.

They put the casket down and are holding the flag above it.

8:03 p.m: The service is taking place, led by Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C. He reads a letter Teddy wrote to the Pope weeks before he died that he says was hand-delivered by President Obama. He reads the Pope's response back to Teddy. It's dark outside now.

There's the military guns and Taps, followed by some words by two of his grandchildren. The service ends.

May he rest in peace.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 29, 2009 (boomark / email).