Kennedy's Biggest Stumble with the Press Came in CBS Interview With Roger Mudd

To reporters, Sen. Edward Kennedy had a reputation as an articulate and eloquent spokesman for the causes he championed. But his greatest gaffe with the press came in an interview that some say doomed his 1980 bid for the presidency.

In November 1979, CBS News aired an hourlong profile of Kennedy in the runup to the 1980 presidential race. During an interview, CBS correspondent Roger Mudd asked Kennedy a simple question: Why do you want to be president?

Kennedy paused, then gave an answer that many have characterized as rambling.

"Well, I'm, uh...." he began. "Were I to make the announcement to run, the reasons that I would run is because I have a great belief in this country, that it is ... there's more natural resources than any nation in the world..."

Kennedy continued in this fashion, finally concluding: "It's imperative for this country to either move forward, that it can't stand still, or otherwise it moves backwards."

Critics said Kennedy's response showed he didn't know why he wanted to be president, or didn't really want the job to begin with.

"It was almost a parody of a politician's answer," Mudd recalled.

The incident may have hurt Kennedy's presidential hopes, but for journalists it demonstrated the power of a simple, short and direct question.

"I don't think I should be known as the man who brought Teddy Kennedy down," Mudd told an interviewer later. "I was the man who did an interview with him that was not helpful."

Watch an excellent series of videos on Kennedy produced by The Boston Globe.