Obama mourns Kennedy, greatest senator of our time

CHILMARK, Mass. — A grieving President Barack Obama paid tribute to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Wednesday, calling him a colleague, counselor and friend who etched his place in history as a "singular figure" on the American political landscape.

"Even though we knew this day was coming, we awaited it with no small amount of dread," Obama said. "For his family, he was a guardian. For America, he was a defender of a dream."

Wednesday morning's brief remarks by Obama, appearing tieless and coatless outside his rented compound on Martha's Vineyard, were delayed several times as he polished it. Obama had been awakened by a top aide just after 2 a.m. EDT and told of Kennedy's death. He spoke with the senator's widow, Victoria, around 2:25 a.m. and ordered flags flown at half-staff on all federal buildings.

The Massachusetts senator died late Tuesday night after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.

"His fight has given us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers John and Robert were taken from us: the blessing of time to say thank you and goodbye," Obama said.

White House aides said that Obama plans to attend and speak at services for Kennedy, who will be buried near his slain brothers at Arlington National Cemetery, according to an Associated Press source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not yet been made public.

The White House said there were no plans for Obama to visit the Kennedys at their compound on nearby Cape Cod. Instead, Obama took his family to a private beach after his remarks.

The president called Kennedy "the greatest senator of our time."

But probably Kennedy's greatest gift to Obama came during last year's presidential race. Kennedy, and his niece Caroline, shook up the Democratic establishment in January 2008 when they endorsed Obama over Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton at a critical point in the marathon primaries. Kennedy lit up the Democratic base with his comparisons of the young contender Obama and former President John F. Kennedy.

Then, risking his own health nearly exactly one year before his death, Sen. Kennedy traveled to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where Obama accepted the presidential nomination, to give a rousing speech on Obama's behalf. The senator also returned to the Capitol in January to see Obama sworn in as the nation's first black president, suffering a seizure at a celebratory luncheon afterward.