I covered Senator Ted Kennedy's last public visit to Wisconsin.

It was a John Kerry for President event, but Senator Kennedy was the main attraction in Green Bay.

Candidates for office often bring in their colleagues to help them campaign. I've covered a countless number of these types of stops, and virtually every time the ploy seems to have a neutral effect, at best. In other words, if I'm coming to the event, having some other state's elected representative telling people how they should vote isn't really a big draw.

This time it was. It was Ted Kennedy.

I talked with a lot of voters who, at the time reported being undecided. They came to see Senator Kennedy... and stayed for Senator Kerry. I remember that about the event. It worked.

I don't remember the content of Senator Kennedy's speech, really. It was a campaign speech not particularly special. I do recall the delivery, however. The manner in which he spoke is so instantly recognizable. It sounded so much like his brothers' famous quotes. It's something to hear that accent... the Kennedy cadence. Content aside, it's hard to argue with the effectiveness of the delivery.

Politics aside, and clearly Senator Kennedy was not everyone's hero, it was pretty cool seeing that guy in person. Click on the video icon to watch the story I did in 2004.

emails: vvitrano@todaystmj4.com