I know it’s August but the television has been wall-to-wall Teddy Kennedy today. And I live in the UK. I can’t imagine how tiring the coverage must be in the States.

The death of a longstanding public servant is certainly a moment worth noting. The senator was also, I grant, part of a very famous family. Some in Britain might miss that the Kennedys are as close to royalty as America gets.

But Teddy Kennedy is not deserving of these tearful invocations to saintliness. He was a “great parliamentarian” because he was an elected politician for a very long time and helped to cut a lot of deals. His longevity meant that he could point to a number of legislative causes that he had helped to champion.

I might prefer a swifter epitaph, that the senator was “a long-serving recipient of nepotism”.

The New York Times writes: “Born to one of the wealthiest American families, Mr Kennedy spoke for the downtrodden in his public life while living the heedless private life of a playboy and a rake for many of his years. Dismissed early in his career as a lightweight and an unworthy successor to his revered brothers, he grew in stature over time by sheer longevity and by hewing to liberal principles while often crossing the partisan aisle to enact legislation.”

We are therefore toasting his legendary ability to lunch, while glossing over the IRA, untimely drownings and so on. Let us try to mark someone’s passing with respect, yes, but proper distance and judgment. Even if it is August.