In a special commentary on CBS' Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer remembered Ted Kennedy, hailing him as the "classic American hero."

"In many ways he was the classic American hero, the imperfect man who was sorely tested, and yet in that testing found a way to overcome personal flaws and go on to accomplish great things," Schieffer stated.

Presumably, what Schieffer meant by "sorely tested" was that time Kennedy drove drunk off a bridge, killed a woman, fled the crime scene and suffered no consequences.

Also on the program were fellow senators, Democrat and Republican, as well as Kennedy's widow, Vicki, who said her late husband "was certainly a joyous Democrat."

Sen. John McCain reminisced about their time together, saying despite political disagreements, they were great friends. "He dedicated his life to the institution and thereby being able to become one of the most effective members of the United States Senate and I might add probably the greatest antagonist I ever had on the floor of the Senate," McCain said.

McCain added that he never had more "ferocious debates" with anyone than he did with Kennedy and said there was "no doubt about the fact that he was a partisan, liberal Democrat of the old school."

Schieffer's commentary and video is below: 

When Senator Kennedy died in 2009, I remember writing that as I watched his funeral I had thought of a book I had just read called "The Art of Racing in the Rain," in which the protagonist observes that no race has ever been won on the first turn, but many have ended there.

Ted Kennedy crashed and crashed again during the early turns of his life. But somehow he kept on going through the sorrows and tragedies over which he had no control and the self-destructiveness over which he did.

And in the final laps, he won. His children loved him, his contemporaries, even those who often opposed him, admired him and those whose causes he championed thanked him.

To what else can a man aspire?

The many laws he authored changed the lives of millions. In many ways he was the classic American hero, the imperfect man who was sorely tested and yet in that testing found a way to overcome personal flaws and go on to accomplish great things.

You didn't have to agree with his politics to appreciate what he achieved.