Kennedy accepts award from Chilean president

(Essdras M. Suarez/Globe Staff)

Senator Kennedy welcomed President Bachelet of Chile in the seaside ceremony.

By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

HYANNIS PORT -- He moved gingerly, in small, careful steps, looking down at the lush grass beneath his feet as he slowly made his way to the podium.

Then, Senator Edward M. Kennedy stood straight as the wind whipped a flag behind him at his seaside family estate, and in a clear, strong voice introduced the president of Chile, Michelle
Bachelet. Before a throng of media gathered on the lawn, he praised Bachelet's leadership and accepted the highest award the Chilean government bestows to foreign citizens.

"I am deeply humbled by this honor," he said at the afternoon press conference.

The event was Kennedy's first public appearance since his speech at the Democratic National Convention in August. But aides say Kennedy, who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer, has resumed a busy work schedule from his home that includes daily teleconferences with fellow senators.

The senior Massachusetts senator and liberal icon did not formally field questions from the media today, but in passing said he had been feeling well and at one point flashed a thumbs-up sign to a group of photographers.

The event seemed designed to help keep the ailing politician in the public eye and show that his health is not keeping him from fully peforming his duties as senator. He plans to return to Washington in January, his aides said.

Kennedy's health troubles have given his public appearances added prominence, and the media seemed to scrutinize his movements and facial expressions for the slightest signs.

They watched carefully as Kennedy, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, greeted Bachelet in his driveway with his wife Vicki, and as he tentatively lowered himself into the back of a golf cart that drove them near the podium.

Kennedy, who is 78, smiled broadly and laughed heartily in easy exchanges with Bachelet and other dignitaries. He looked well-rested and relaxed, but was somewhat unsteady on his feet and at the end of the event needed slight assistance up the porch stairs.

Neither Bachelet or Kennedy mentioned his illness.

In his first remarks about the deepening financial crisis, which he said "threatened the economic security of the United States and other countries," Kennedy called for "accountability and full disclosure" in the handling of the Wall Street meltdown.

Kennedy also praised Congress for advancing mental health parity legislation he had sponsored, calling it "the most important health care legislation that has been passed in some time."

The measure, which passed the Senate last night and was expected to pass in the House, requires equal coverage for mental health ailments under group health plans involving 50 or more employees. It would affect some 113 million people, including 82 million people who are in self-funded plans not covered by state mental health parity laws.

In her speech, Bachelet extolled Kennedy's leadership in cutting off US aid to the dictatorial Pinochet regime in the 1970s and assisting her country achieve democracy.

"You were there for us when human rights were massively and systematically abused," she said, calling him "one of the great and true friends of Chile." "You not only understood, you acted accordingly."

"In you, we see the United States we love and esteem," she added.

Kennedy said Chileans had shown great courage in overcoming dictators and repressive conditions and were a "shining example" to the region and the world.

Bachelet, who flew to Boston after the event to speak at Harvard University, went out of her way to visit the Kennedy home, a gesture that seemed to moved the senator. After their remarks, he struck a nostalgic note, gesturing toward the lawn where his brothers had often played sports, and the beach and the sound beyond.

"This has been a very special place for our family and you do us a great honor, a great honor, to join us here."

Susan Milligan of the Globe staff contributed to this report from Washington.

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