By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a leadingDemocrat and patriarch of a prominent U.S. political dynasty,suffered a seizure on Saturday but hours later was talking withfamily at his side in a Boston hospital.
Kennedy, 76, was rushed from the family vacation compoundat Hyannisport, Massachusetts, to Cape Cod Hospital at 9 a.m.(1300 GMT), before being airlifted to Boston.
"Over the next couple of days, Senator Kennedy will undergofurther evaluation to determine the cause of the seizure, and acourse of treatment will be determined at that time," hisdoctor, Larry Ronan, said in a statement.
Kennedy, youngest brother of assassinated U.S. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy, was resting comfortably, watching a Boston RedSox baseball game with family and "not in any immediatedanger", Ronan said.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, after talking withKennedy's wife, Vicki, told reporters in Reno, Nevada, that thesenator "will be fine" and had "woke up fighting" after theseizure, a Reid aide said.
The Boston Globe reported Kennedy suffered one seizure athis Cape Cod home and a second seizure aboard the helicoptertransport flight to Boston.
Family members gathered at the hospital earlier in the dayamid uncertainty over the long-serving Massachusetts senator'scondition, including his three children and his nephew JosephKennedy, eldest son of assassinated U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy.
Kennedy, the second-longest serving member of the currentU.S. Senate, is a leading liberal voice in U.S. politics andhas actively campaigned for Barack Obama in his bid to becomethe Democratic nominee in the November presidential election.
"As I've said many times before, Ted Kennedy is a giant inAmerican political history. He's done more for the health careof others than just about anybody in history," Obama toldreporters during a visit to a hospital in Eugene, Oregon.
"We are going to be rooting for him, and I, I insist onbeing optimistic about how it's going to turn out."
Campaigning in Kentucky, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama'srival for the Democratic nomination, offered her wishes for thesenator's quick recovery.
HEALTH SCARES
Kennedy has been a vocal critic of Republican PresidentGeorge W. Bush, particularly on his Iraq war, tax cuts for thewealthy and conservative nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court whohe fears will push the high court to the right.
But he also worked closely with Republicans on legislationincluding Republican presidential candidate John McCain on thecontroversial immigration issue.
"He is a legendary lawmaker," McCain said in a statement."When we have worked together, he has been a skillful, fair andgenerous partner. I consider it a great privilege to call himmy friend."
The white-haired senator has had other brushes with illhealth. He had preventive surgery at Boston's MassachusettsGeneral Hospital in October to unclog a partially blockedcarotid artery in his neck.
The blockage was discovered during a routine check ofKennedy's back and spine, doctors said. A blocked carotidartery can lead to a stroke and death, they said at the time.
Kennedy has suffered from back problems since a plane crashin 1964 in which the pilot and one of Kennedy's aides werekilled and the senator was pulled from the wreckage with apunctured lung, broken ribs and internal bleeding.
Kennedy came to the Senate in November 1962 to fill a seatearlier held by his older brother, then President John Kennedy.He currently serves as chairman of the Senate Committee onHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions.
He ran for president in 1980, but his White House ambitionshad never recovered from Chappaquiddick, the July 1969 accidentwhen his car plunged off a bridge on a Massachusetts island anda young woman riding with him, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned.Kennedy lost the 1980 party nomination to Jimmy Carter whofailed in his bid for a second White House term.
His oldest brother, Joseph Jr, died as a World War II flierwhen his bomber exploded over the English Channel. John becameAmerica's first and so far only Roman Catholic president in1960 and was assassinated in 1963. Robert was assassinatedduring his 1968 presidential campaign.
(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Charles Abbott,Doina Chiacu, Jeff Mason, Ellen Wulfhorst and Caren Bohan;Writing by Jason Szep. Editing by Jackie Frank)
