Kennedy 'frustrated' to be absent from health care debate

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rep. Patrick Kennedy said Friday that his father, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, has been "very frustrated" to be absent from Washington during the debate over health care reform.

Kennedy, a Rhode Island Democrat, told The Associated Press that his father, who has made health care a core issue during his 47 years in the Senate, has a unique ability to read his colleagues and negotiate compromises.

"Every other senator in that Senate knows that there have been very few senators like Ted Kennedy over the years that can bring both sides together and hammer out a deal that can then go to the president," said the younger Kennedy, who called his father a "master legislator" and statesman.

The 77-year-old Massachusetts senator was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May 2008.

He underwent a risky, aggressive surgery shortly after his diagnosis, but since then has been convalescing at his homes in Washington and Hyannis Port, as well as a rental property in Florida.