(Providence, Rhode Island)

Patrick Kennedy is leaving Congress in 2011; and, as he does, it will be the first time since 1934--a 77 year stretch--that a Kennedy family member is not playing a prominent role in Washington, D.C. That was the year his grandpa, Joe Kennedy, became the first Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC. He later became U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, had nine famous children with his wife Rose; and, well, you know the rest. It's a three-generation legacy matched only by the Bush family of GOP fame

I first met Patrick Kennedy in 1994, when he came to Washington for the freshman orientation. That was the year of the Contract with America, when Republicans swept into control of both houses on Capitol Hill for the first time in forty years. He was one of only eight (I believe) Democratic freshman in a sea of GOP red. He was very shy--I thought--for a Kennedy. His dad Teddy was serving in the Senate, one of the rare times in U.S. history with a parent and child serving in the same Congress. I remember Barry Goldwater and Barry, Jr., accomplishing the same feat in the 80s. Can you remember others?

In any event, the next time I interviewed Congressman Kennedy was in 2000, at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. The now brash, young, three-term member of the House was running the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, commonly known as the "D-Triple-C."

I was in a scrum of reporters as Kennedy bragged that he had raised more money for Congressional candidates than the Republicans had. The irony was that this was the year of campaign finance reform and the McCain-Feingold bill to cap campaign contributions. So when I asked Patrick Kennedy about what Sen. John McCain might say about his donation boast, he blew his stack. He screamed his lungs out at me and stomped away. The press corps was stunned. My good friend, "San Francisco Chronicle" political reporter Carla Marinucci, was stunned. After she scraped her jaw off the floor, she said, "I can't believe he just exploded like that!"

I chalked it up to a bad day; but I'm sad to report that the Congressman has had other public blow-ups over the years. Hey, I'm Irish, too, so I understand the Irish temper thing! But I also know he has wrestled with drug and alcohol addictions since he was a teenager, so I pray for his recovery and for others like him. It's a hard road.

Fast forward to today, and Congressman Kennedy was in our WLNE-TV ABC-6 studios in downtown Providence. He was there to discuss his pending retirement from Congress at the ripe young age of 42.

The Kennedys are fascinating. Whether people love them or hate them--and there are plenty of both--they remain a spellbinding chapter in American political history. Will Patrick be the last Kennedy of his generation to hold political office? Is there anyone in the fourth generation to carry the torch? I don't know. I wonder the same about the Bushes, too. Two fascinating American political families, both from the birthplace of our democracy-- New England.

To see the entire 17-minute interview with Congressman Patrick Kennedy, conducted by ABC6 Anchor John Deluca and me, go to this link. The interview is in three segments:

http://www.abc6.com/news/84262662.html

Stayed tuned for more New England politics at www.ABC6.com.