Romney might be able to hold the seat if he plays his cards right, but he'll never be POTUS. Also keep in mind that this was soon after the William Kennedy Smith mess, which was one of the lowest points in third-gen Kennedy family history IMO. Martha Moxley wasn't exactly peaches and roses either. I agree that marrying Vicki helped resurrect Ted just in time- or at least diverting attention from the proclivity of the younger generation to push the self-destruct button on repeated occasions until 1994 (or in Patrick's case until 2006), when the political, personal, etc. damage had been already proved fatal. None of this occurred in a vacuum. Of course, I'm not talking about John and Caroline, but everybody else seems to have said "Screw the Rules". Some more literally than others.