FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: A Lion in a Senate Full of Them--Back in '63, That is

This is almost depressing.

Here is a list of some of the shining lights of the Senate back when Teddy Kennedy joined up to fill in his brother's term. Granted, some - like Goldwater and Thurmond - aren't people I'd necessarily admire, but even those I wouldn't agree with couldn't be called outright idiots. You could disagree with them on principle and respect said differences.

Face it: McConnell, Cornyn, Grassley, Chambliss, McCain, Inhofe and company couldn't hold a candle to another of those names - collectively. To be fair, neither could Feinstein, Baucus, Landrieu, Lieberman and their ilk.

Thankfully Jim Webb, Sherrod Brown, and the Udall cousins seem to be making early good starts. But honestly, our current crop is lacking in both gravitas and good ideas.