Romney on Kennedy: a "big-hearted, unforgettable man"

Via the National Review--which, in contrast to Fox News, seems willing to give Ted Kennedy's death a blatantly political gloss, or to damn Kennedy with faint praise--here's an unequivocally laudatory Kennedy tribute from Mitt Romney:

The loss of Senator Ted Kennedy is a sad event for America, and especially for Massachusetts. The last son of Rose Fitzgerald and Joseph Kennedy was granted a much longer life than his brothers, and he filled those years with endeavor and achievement that would have made them proud.

In 1994, I joined the long list of those who ran against Ted and came up short. But he was the kind of man you could like even if he was your adversary. I came to admire Ted enormously for his charm and sense of humor – qualities all the more impressive in a man who had known so much loss and sorrow. I will always remember his great personal kindness, and the fighting spirit he brought to every cause he served and every challenge he faced. I was proud to know Ted Kennedy as a friend, and today my family and I mourn the passing of this big-hearted, unforgettable man.

(Also at NR, Bill Bennett takes the high road as well. Meanwhile, nothing online yet from the Weekly Standard.)