Edward Kennedy Released From Hospital

Senator Ted Kennedy was released from a Boston hospital today, a day after doctors said he was suffering from a malignant brain tumour.

Kennedy, 76, and the last surviving son of America's most famous political dynasty, walked out of the hospital in mid-morning with his family. He gave a thumbs-up sign to well wishers waiting outside the hospital, and bent to pet his dogs before stepping into a waiting car.

Kennedy's appearance and good spirits came after a day in which the political world struggled to come to terms with the possible consequences of his grim diagnosis.

His doctors said that Kennedy had recovered quickly from a biopsy and that the Massachusetts senator and his family would wait for the results of further tests, and for doctors to determine his treatment, from his home in Cape Cod."He's feeling well and eager to get started," the statement from his doctors said.

News of Kennedy's diagnosis had stunned the Senate, bringing tears from the oldest member, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, and a moment of prayer from the Republicans who had demonised the senator for his championship of liberal causes over the decades.

It also brought out a decidedly ghoulish strain. Some commentators referred to Kennedy in the past tense, and the New York Post ran a headline saying: "Ted is dying."

But friends of the Kennedy family said the senator shows no symptoms and remains optimistic. He has given no indication that he will retire from the Senate, where he has served more than 45 years.

Kennedy's wife, Vicki Reggie Kennedy, admitted in an email to friends that the diagnosis had been a "real curve ball". But she said that Kennedy was still talking about taking part in an annual sailing race off Cape Cod.Kennedy was airlifted to hospital in Boston at the weekend after suffering a seizure while walking his dogs near his home in Cape Cod. Preliminary biopsy results indicated it had been caused by a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe of his brain. It is the most common brain cancer among adults.

The news of the diagnosis reverberated through Washington. President George Bush had telephoned to wish Kennedy a speedy recovery.

In Congress, a number of politicians said they could not imagine the Senate without Kennedy's booming presence, and feared that the possible end of his career could lead to a drift to the right.

However, there was also a conviction that Kennedy would fight his illness.

"He is a strong guy with a great heart and we are confident he will be back here," said Chris Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who has been Kennedy's closest friend in the Senate.

John Kerry, a fellow senator from Massachusetts, said Kennedy had been in good spirits when he saw him at the weekend. "We are pulling for our pal, and I know he is determined to fight this," he said.

The youngest male of his generation of the famous political clan, Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962 to fill the vacancy created when his elder brother, John, was elected to the White House.

He has remained in the Senate ever since - his own presidential ambitions were thwarted by the scandal of Chappaquiddick, when a car he was driving left the road and his young woman passenger drowned, and a failed challenge for the Democratic nomination against Jimmy Carter in 1980.

But within the Senate, Kennedy built up a reputation as a passionate defender of liberal causes who was also adroit at forging compromises with Republican counterparts to produce legislation.

He helped craft more than 2,500 bills.

He is now the second longest serving senator, maintaining a hectic schedule despite his age and surgery last year to repair a blocked artery in his neck.

Kennedy has not faced a serious challenge to his seat for years, and is not due for re-election until 2012.

He opposed the war on Iraq, and bestowed the Kennedy stamp of approval on Barack Obama's run for the White House.