Sen. Kennedy hospitalized after seizure

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON (Reuters) - Sen. Edward Kennedy, a leading Democrat, suffered a seizure on Saturday but hours later was talking with family at his side in a Boston hospital.

Kennedy, 76, was rushed from the family vacation compound at Hyannisport, Massachusetts, to Cape Cod Hospital at 9 a.m., before being airlifted to Boston.

"He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure," his office in Washington said in a statement.

A Kennedy aide said later that by Saturday afternoon the senator was joking with family members.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, after talking with Kennedy's wife, Vicki, told reporters in Reno, Nevada, that the senator "will be fine," a Reid aide said.

Reid said the senator had a seizure, but "woke up fighting," the aide added.

The Boston Globe reported Kennedy, youngest brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, suffered one seizure at his Cape Cod home and a second seizure aboard the helicopter transport flight to Boston.

Family members gathered at the hospital. His sons Edward Kennedy Jr. and Patrick and daughter Kara as well as his nephew Joe Kennedy and niece Caroline Kennedy came to the hospital, according a Reuters photographer at the scene.

Kennedy, the second-longest serving member of the current U.S. Senate, is a leading liberal voice in the United States and has actively campaigned for Barack Obama in his bid to become the Democratic nominee in the November presidential election.

"As I've said many times before, Ted Kennedy is a giant in American political history. He's done more for the health care of others than just about anybody in history," Obama told reporters during a visit to a hospital in Eugene, Oregon.

"We are going to be rooting for him, and I, I insist on being optimistic about how it's going to turn out."

Campaigning in Kentucky, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, offered her wishes for the senator's quick recovery.

Kennedy has been a vocal critic of Republican President George W. Bush, particularly on his Iraq war, tax cuts for the wealthy and conservative nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court who he fears will push the high court to the right.

But he also worked closely with Republicans on legislation including Republican presidential candidate John McCain on the controversial immigration issue.

"He is a legendary lawmaker," McCain said in a statement. "When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair and generous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call him my friend."