Sports: Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins and retires from bicycle racing, Kennedy politicizes on day of his drunk car race

7-time winner and living legend of the annual Tour de France bicycle race, Lance Anderson said his farewell to active participation in the event that gave him world fame. He said he plans to chilll out and take some time with his family, while figuring out where his interests will take him next.

Jerome Pugmire has an excellent account here, Associated Press, July 25, 2005.

Strangely, Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts piggybacked on Armstrong, perhaps thinking the racer's bike was a two-seater. Kennedy got international press attention as well, remarking that Armstrong "would make a terrific politician." How so? A vote-getter perhaps, assuming fame is transferable automatically from a narrow-niche sport to a regional political configuration - like Massachusetts? Is Kennedy floating an idea for a successor? - after all he's not immortal.

Musing on the Senator's suggestion, I wondered how serious Kennedy could have been about Armstrong's prospects, because when I looked at LeDevoir today, it seemed Kennedy's approval amounted to a strange kiss of death from the very guy who is celebrated the anniversary on July 21 of his "fleeing from the secne of an accident" Mary Jo Kopechne dead in pond. Kennedy refuses to acknowledge that especially many Americans still alive have always felt felt he should have been tried for the young woman's murder.

Translated from LeDevoir, Montreal French news daily's email newslettters, July 23, 2005:

July 21, 1969 - Ted Kennedy is shown to have left the place of an accident (Article - Duty).

EDGARTOWN, Mass (according to AP) - "Senator Edward Kennedy, brother of deceased Robert F Kennedy and deceased John F Kennedy, respectively assassinated on June 6, 1968 and on November 22, 1963, is today regarded by the town of Edgartown to have left the scene of a car accident implicating him in an accident which caused a person's death." 36 years ago, still waiting for a proper trial.

Surely, Lance Armstrong doesn't need the loud kudos in the press by such a man on such a day of infamy. - Politicarp