You Haven't Heard the Last of the Kennedys

Patrick Kennedy’s retirement may seem like an era-ending event, but there are more Kennedys where he came from. Many members of the now far-flung clan—from as far afield as Illinois, Florida, and California—have political ambitions, Politico reports. At least three seriously considered 2010 runs, including Chris Kennedy, Anthony Shriver, and Joseph Kennedy II. But they’ve met with limited success, leading to speculation that the family name has lost some of its luster.

"The advantage of being a Kennedy is access to media and money. That is a powerful combination,” says the author of one book on the Kennedy dynasty. “But the good old days of people voting for a Kennedy just because they're a Kennedy are over.” The Boston Globe pegs Joseph Kennedy III, son of Joseph Kennedy II, as the family’s hottest prospect, but notes that fewer and fewer Kennedys are going into politics. (More Kennedy family stories.)