I have to agree with you on this one......you forgot his cheating at Harvard, and the manipulation of his military service which like Mitt he mysteriously ended up in Paris as a military police officer, while others were going to Korea. I guess the Kennedys had lost one son Joe in the war, but it is rose colored glasses when Democrats talk about Ted Kennedy. The man gets a pass for much of his bad behavior, and it is hypocritical to look at Mitt's silver spoon and privilege, and hold Ted not to the same standard.
To this day, his behavior at that bridge was totally unacceptable. Drunk or scared is not an excuse. A human lost her life because of a drunk driver, but worse.....she might have been saved if he had tried to do the right thing.......he consistently showed through his life that he had a fatal character flaw where making the wrong choice was standard behavior.