I won't miss him, I don't miss Helms or Thurmond either. I don't think anybody should be allowed to hold office that long. With that said, he wasn't a bad guy.
Nobody was tougher on TK after the Chappaquiddick thing than TK himself, he regretted it and stated publicly that his behavior was indefensible. Why he was re-elected, I don't know.
He was a screaming ass liberal for certain, but he was also a gifted negotiator and always willing to meet his opponents half way. Those aren't bad traits for a politician, I wish there were more like that.
I don't like politicians, especially career politicians and I've never been enamored with the Kennedy dynasty but at least give the man credit for what he did right rather than focusing strictly on the politics and hating him simply because he was a liberal.