Without Kennedy, Senate quieter, emptier

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Without its most powerful orator and liberal giant, the U.S. Senate was suddenly quieter and emptier on Wednesday.

"We don't have the roar on the floor," Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey said of Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. "His legislative gravitas moves issues. You feel the vacuum."

No one was certain when Kennedy, first hospitalized on Saturday, would return to work while he battles a malignant brain tumor diagnosed on Tuesday.

Yet colleagues quickly sensed the void from the absence of the 76-year-old Democratic icon, one of the chamber's most effective legislators and skilled dealmakers.

"When Ted leads the debate on the Senate floor, it's almost magically," said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

"We all like him because he's not a milquetoast," Graham said. "He's passionate. He can go out there and yell and hurt your ears, but when it's over go buy you a beer."

A leading foe of the Iraq war, Kennedy had been certain to be a key voice on Wednesday when the Senate took up legislation to fund the unpopular conflict another year. Instead, senators offered him words of praise and prayer.

"I want Senator Kennedy to know that all of us here are pulling for him," said Sen. Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat.