Words can't express what an earth-shattering loss this would be.

A speedy recovery for Sen. Kennedy.

God bless this great Lion of progressive values and principles.

May you swiftly and fully recover.

Just saw this on Yahoo. Very sad news, for the country, MA, and the Democratic Party. Have said a prayer and am keeping my fingers crossed. What a great man he is - I hope this "no word on his condition" is a no news is good news kind of thing.

Please be okay.  Please.

Official word, he is under evaluation at Mass General.  He had a discussion with his doctors regarding his symptoms so was conscious when he arrived there.

The news his family has been summoned is not a good sign.

My thoughts are with you and your family. Hang in there, big fella.  America needs you.

Our Prayers and thoughts to the Kennedy family.

God Bless you and be with you, Senator Kennedy.  Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for the country's greatest Senator.

Also they are reporting that he called a family member around 10:30 to cancel his appearance at a family luncheon, which hopefully indicates not so terrible news.

Our prayers are with you, Senator Kennedy, and the family. May you be all right and fully recover.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breakin g_news/2008/05/ted_kennedy_sai.html

Apparently suffered seizures.

so hopefully that means he will be ok. But you never know, and who knows if he will be able to remain in senate. I'd hope so, and i feel optmistic that he will be ok

I sincerely hope for a full recovery for Senator Kennedy.

I was in high school when his brother, JFK, was assassinated. I was in college when Bobby was shot, I recall when Teddy was in a plane crash.

Yes, many tragedies....and, while this is painful, it must be noted, the last significant political comments, as i recall, were in an interview in which he dismissed the idea of Hillary as a V-P nod, saying he thought Obama should to in a direction more in keeping with his noble aims.

That was a sad, unneccesary jibe considering the race has been pretty much sewn up, how sad that a grand man of liberal policy and impulse succumbed to a cheap shot.

No matter, I hope the Senator recovers and goes on to campaign for Obama, I have been around too long to hate, but do not choose to ignore the lapses that take away from the whole matter of the man's well being, of which, again, and I know futilely, of which i hope only improves, if it take a miracle, then I would pray for one.

To those who will, understandably, take this & let it foster resentment, please understand, life is a complicated matter, the best have warts, sometimes the worst have beneficent impulses...white and black, not always but this does not change my urgent prayer for Ted and hope for his return, he is one of a kind, that is a damn fact no matter who you are

Teddy God Bless You

The primary infighting has been so ugly here, it was only days ago that we could all witness the most gross, far-right-wing smear-style attacks on this man tossed around without a second thought - and all because he preferred a different Democrat in the Presidential Primary than the commenters.

Sometimes it takes a reminder of mortality and the fragility of life - a complete life, that like everyone's, cannot be reduced to a single event - to get people to regain their perspective.

Yes, even if he prefers 'Democrat A' over 'Democrat B.'

But I'm truly confident that we'll all be hoping for a full recovery for this man, to whom we all owe a great deal.

Please Teddy, get well quickly.  We need you.  I've spent my life watching the Kennedys endure tragedy and expend themselves for the benefit of our society.  They have been the very model of civil servants and humanity.  Despite being only human, they have been committed to giving back and improving life for us all.  Praying for you, Teddy.

Best wishes for Senator Kennedy and his family.

-chris

We're pulling for you.

The guy really should slow down; we need him in good shape.  

Thankfully, if something does happen, Governor Patrick can recruit a Democrat to fill his spot.  Maybe his niece, Caroline?

Get well Sen. Kennedy!

We are ALL pulling for you.

Just heard friend at the Kennedy office in DC...Did not know exactly what was happening, but knew it did not appear to be too serious - and that Teddy would likely be kept for a period of time to make sure he didn't have any more "episodes," but will be allright.

As a stroke survivor, the doctors say the key is to get to the hospital ASAP.

He should be fine but seizures are bad. They will have to find the source of the seizure and run many tests.

May need brain surgery but he is a tough fighter and should pull thru.

May be out a while like Johnson.

Phew!!

Be well, Teddy.

Senator Kennedy and best wishes to the family.

Just so everyone knows: seizures can be caused by a wide variety of circumstances, ranging from trivial to catastrophic.  The can be caused by extremely low blood sugar, a variety of types of brain trauma, certain types of stimulants (including some legal ones), strokes, tumors or brain injury.

Medline has some great resources on this.

I'm just posting this because people are asking and making assumptions.  A seizure in itself doesn't mean much of anything and doesn't tell us anything about long-term prognosis.

I hope that in Kennedy's case it's one of the trivial elements and not the serious ones.

I didn't get to comment while the story was actually going on, but I'll admit I was a little choked up when I initially heard the news and there was speculation on MSNBC that he had died.

Here's hoping for a swift recovery and a couple more terms.  He'll be a great asset to either candidate's Presidency.