"I'm so hopeful that people will understand the Shriver legacy, not as much as the Kennedy legacy, because it doesn't have the same sex appeal. But it's a solid legacy."
Sons of Camelot
July 25, 2004
Reporter :Lesley Stahl, CBS America
Lesley Stahl also talks to the Shriver branch of the Kennedy family. Eunice, JFK's younger sister, married Sargent Shriver, who ran for vice president in 1972, and for president in 1976 — and he did a few other things, as his daughter, Maria Shriver, former television reporter and present First Lady of California, explains. "He did the Peace Corps, the Job Corps, Head Start, legal services for the poor, foster grandparents, neighbourhood health services. He started all of those," says Maria Shriver. "I'm so hopeful that people will understand the Shriver legacy, not as much as the Kennedy legacy, because it doesn't have the same sex appeal. But it's a solid legacy."
The Shrivers have the same kind of dedication to public service as the Kennedys. Bobby Shriver, at 49, is the oldest of the five Shriver children. He's a record producer and has teamed up with rock superstar Bono to raise billions of dollars for Third World debt relief and the AIDS crisis in Africa. His younger brother, Tim Shriver, 44, runs the Special Olympics. Tim's youngest brother, Anthony, began a mentoring program 15 years ago, called Best Buddies, inspired by his aunt Rosemary, JFK's severely disabled sister, now 85.
And, of course, there's Maria Shriver. "Who knows who might run for office?" asks her brother Bobby. "You know, Maria Shriver might run for office. How'd you like to run against Maria Shriver?"
It's ultimately loyalty that has sustained the Kennedy legacy. "All the tragedies in my family have left me with a sense that you can carry on," says Tim Shriver. "At the end of the day we are a family."
The Kennedy sons say they are trying to stay true to the words of their ancestors. "My grandfather used to say this: fight as hard as you can for what's right, and then let God take care of the results," says Bobby Kennedy Jnr. "I have to make it to the end of my life without stopping fighting, you know? I have to die with my boots on. And I know I'm going to do that."
