Maybe the most famous in-law in U.S. History, Sargent Shriver, died Tuesday. Shriver, the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded with his wife Special Olympics.
He also founded the Peace Corps; was a leader in implimenting Great Society policy; was an ambassador; Chicago School Board President. All this after serving the Navy in the Pacific in World War II. All this and more as the Boston Globe reports, Sargent Shriver was a true American hero that showed government by the people works. It's just the politics that were unsuccessful for Shriver, he lost his only shot at elective office as George McGovern's running mate against Richard Nixon in 1972.
But after you read his accomplishments and consider if Sargent Shriver was more governmentally influential than his more famous political in-laws: JFK; RFK; Teddy and Arnold.
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BETHESDA, Md.—For all his accomplishments -- Peace Corps director, ambassador, leader of the war on poverty -- R. Sargent Shriver ultimately became known first as an in-law.
The brother-in-law of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward Kennedy, and, late in life, father-in-law of actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, died Tuesday, after being hospitalized for several days in his native Maryland. He was 95 and had suffered from Alzheimer's disease since at least 2003.
One of the last links to President Kennedy's "Camelot," Shriver, a businessman and lawyer, helped his late wife and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver -- a sister of JFK and Edward Kennedy -- run the organization that allows disabled people to participate in sports.
President Barack Obama called Shriver, "one of the brightest lights of the greatest generation."
"Over the course of his long and distinguished career, Sarge came to embody the idea of public service," Obama said in a statement.
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1 comment:
I think it's interesting that only at Shriver's death do we truly recognize the power that civil servants hold in our democracy, whether or not they hold elected office. Shriver is a prime example as to why civil servants who are able to use the power of the bureaucracy to truly make a difference, whether through the Peace Corps or positions in Cabinet level departments, truly hold power and authority in our nation. Though he was unsuccessful in his bid for office, Shriver has made as much of a difference in American society as any or his relatives who did run for political office. A key proponent of the Great Society, Shriver shows the power of the American Civil Service.
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